The website was created by a group of five undergraduate students at the University of California, Los Angeles as a part of their introductory coursework in digital humanities, with direction and assistance from Dr. Wendy Perla Kurtz and Nick Schwieterman. Students were assigned to find and comprehensively examine an openly available dataset, concentrating their efforts on building an interpretation and storyline rooted in the humanities and social sciences.
This project aims to reveal the human and social impact behind Airbnb rental data in New York City, specifically using data from Inside Airbnb as of October 2023. Acting as a representation of the short-term rental market, this dataset enables a broader understanding of the New York City sharing economy and the potential humanistic impacts of gentrification.
Research Questions
How might the increased prevalence of Airbnbs perpetuate gentrification in New York City?
How do New York City Airbnbs reinforce the displacement of marginalized communities, analyzing demographic data?