Airbnb and COVID-19: SPACE-TIME vulnerability effects in six world-cities.

This study examines the COVID-19 vulnerability and subsequent market dynamics in the volatile hospitality market worldwide, by focusing in particular on individual Airbnb bookings-data for six world-cities in various continents over the period January 2020-August 2021. This research was done by: (i) looking into factual survival rates of Airbnb accommodations in the period concerned; (ii) examining place-based impacts of intra-city location on the economic performance of Airbnb facilities; (iii) estimating the price responses to the pandemic by means of a hedonic price model. In our statistical analyses based on large volumes of time- and space-varying data, multilevel logistic regression models are used to trace 'corona survivability footprints' and to estimate a hedonic price-elasticity-of-demand model. The results reveal hardships for the Airbnb market as a whole as well as a high volatility in prices in most cities. Our study highlights the vulnerability and 'corona echo-effects' on Airbnb markets for specific accommodation segments in several large cities in the world. It adds to the tourism literature by testing the geographic distributional impacts of the corona pandemic on customers' choices regarding type and intra-urban location of Airbnb accommodations.

A blueprint for strategic urban research: the urban piazza.

Urban research in many countries has failed to keep up with the pace of rapidly and constantly evolving urban change. The growth of cities, the increasing complexity of their functions and the complex intra- and inter-urban linkages in this 'urban century' demand new approaches to urban analysis, which, from a systemic perspective, supersede the existing fragmentation in urban studies. In this paper we propose the concept of the urban piazza as a framework in order to address some of the inefficiencies associated with current urban analysis. By combining wealth-creating potential with smart urban mobility, ecological resilience and social buzz in this integrated and systemic framework, the aim is to set the basis for a 'New Urban World' research blueprint, which lays the foundation for a broader and more integrated research programme for strategic urban issues.

Spotlight on the region analytical contributions on regional development.

Regional science has, in its great history since the 1950s, made a decisive contribution to a better scientific understanding of spatial development issues and dynamics and to a more effective implementation of knowledge-based regional policy in many countries of the world, in both developed and developing nations on our planet. This special issue of the annals of regional science, titled "Spotlight on the Region", celebrates the scholarly importance and impact of the late Roger Stough on regional science. The issue is comprised of fourteen self-standing on regional and urban development and highlights the critical importance of regional and urban dimensions in sustainable development. They confirm once more the seminal significance of the contributions of one of the great giants in regional science, Roger Stough.

On the bumpy road to recovery: resilience of public transport ridership during COVID-19 in 15 European cities.

COVID-19 has a dramatic impact on the use of public transport (PT). Most European cities report a decline in PT use during 2020 and 2021. Nevertheless, not all cities report similar decline patterns or comparable resilience paths. We investigate the resilience patterns of PT use during 2020 and 2021 in 15 European cities from 11 different countries using clustering and regression analysis of data originating from Google Mobility Reports, the Oxford Policy Stringency Tracker, and COVID-19 reports. Results highlight the variety of resilience patterns of PT use in these 15 cities. These patterns vary in time and space. PT use in some cities recovered faster and more significantly than in others. Findings also suggest that changes in retail and recreational routines had the highest impact on the resilience of PT use in most cities. Changes in workplace routines are also important, but to a lesser degree. The impact of policy stringency on PT use is significant, but less consistent between the 15 cities.

Leisure mobility changes during the COVID-19 pandemic - An analysis of survey and mobile phone data in Sweden.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected travelling in general, and the leisure mobility and the spatial distribution of travellers in particular. In most parts of the world, both domestic and international travel has been replaced by restrictive policies and recommendations on mobility. A modal shift from public transport towards private cars and micro-mobility was also observed. This study seeks to trace the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for leisure mobility. We use a unique Swedish database containing daily mobility patterns of pseudonymised mobile phone users, combined with a survey on vacation transport behaviour. By contrasting mobility patterns for selected holiday days during the unaffected summer of 2019 with corresponding dates in 2020 and 2021, we are able to model and detect the pandemic effects on tourism and recreational mobility. Moreover, by identifying the general mobility patterns, we analyse whether and how the transport mode has changed. Using data on the spatial distribution of recreational amenities, we identify locations that were favoured during the pandemic. In Sweden, even though the pandemic decreased in spread and severity during the summers, most travel restrictions were still enforced, international vacations uncommon, and larger vacation spots, such as amusement parks and cultural institutions, were closed down. Swedish vacation homes in remote or rural areas were quickly booked. This change in recreational behaviour, where less populated areas, open air and nature recreation were favoured over indoor or crowded urban cultural activities, was more substantial in 2021 than in 2020. This result shows how policies can effectively be developed, so that Swedes respond properly to recommendations and adjust their vacation plans.

The ideal neighbourhoods of successful ageing: A machine learning approach.

Ageing outcomes are shaped by not only health conditions, but also their interactions with the external environment. While the effects of some specific neighbourhood characteristics such as rurality on ageing have been evaluated in various studies, we still know little about the relative importance of particular natural and urban environments and how the impact varies at different stages of the ageing process. This article addresses these knowledge gaps by analysing survey data from 33 European countries using a machine learning method called multivariate regression trees (MRT). Multiple wellbeing indicators are combined to form an ageing profile for each individual in the survey. After studying these profiles using MRT, we find that generally the affordability of health facilities is a major determinant of life satisfaction, self-rated health condition and mental wellbeing for individuals in most age groups. Other important but age-specific determinants are neighbourhood safety and accessibility to cultural facilities and to green areas. In contrast, characteristics such as urbanity, transportation and air quality do not significantly influence ageing outcomes. Our findings lend support to the resources theory in explaining ageing outcomes and suggest that more resources may have to be directed to improve the affordability and quality of health care services, the policing services and the accessibility to cultural and green areas in order to achieve more favourable ageing outcomes.

Are global cities sustainability champions? A double delinking analysis of environmental performance of urban agglomerations.

Urban agglomerations - irrespective of their size or location - may act not only as engines of economic growth, but also as vehicles of environmental and climate sustainability that may stimulate both socio-economic achievements and environmentally-benign outcomes. Clearly, the efficiency of these outcomes may differ for different types of urban agglomeration in the world. This paper aims to present and test an advanced methodology for assessing economic and sustainability-oriented performance strategies for global cities, by developing and applying a super-efficient Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. We compare 40 global cities - included in the Global Power City Index (GPCI) database - in a benchmark study in order to trace the highest-performing urban regions from both an economic and environmental-climatological efficiency perspective, by applying relevant quantitative GPCI indicators to these 40 cities. Our ultimate goal is to test what is termed the 'delinking' hypothesis, from the viewpoint of both economic prosperity and urban size externalities. This approach will be applied empirically by examining the GPCI data set comprised of various multi-dimensional and empirically verified indicators on economic performance and climatological-environmental conditions for the 40 global cities concerned. We regard both the size of these agglomerations and their economic welfare position as critical parameters for assessing their economic and environmental efficiency performance. In the framework of our original DEA approach, these urban areas are categorised according to 2x2 dimensions, viz. in terms of both agglomeration size (big or medium-sized) and the economic development level of the area (highly developed or developing/emerging). Our contribution serves to assess - by means of regression techniques - the highest performing agglomerations among the urban sustainability champions on the basis of the two above-mentioned assessment criteria. This approach provides the opportunity to test the so-called Kuznets sustainability curve under two different conditions, viz. agglomeration size and economic development. The study presents and interprets the empirical findings for these four classes of global cities.