Will the Paris Olympics Be the Green Games?

October 5, 2023

In preparation for the Olympic Games, Paris invests in sustainable resources to minimize environmental impact.

Paris Olympic Games. Nicolas Michaud. CC BY 2.0

Keeping up the momentum of its previous environmental ambitions, Paris has committed to complete environmental sustainability for the 2024 Olympic Games. This greener approach will be made possible through careful consideration of the event’s chosen venues, operations (catering and accommodation) and transportation.

As a city renowned for its architecture, Paris has addressed one major change that it can make to the games — using existing infrastructure to host events. As of now, 95% of the chosen venues are pre-existing or temporary structures.

The competition zones are divided into two main areas both inside and outside of Paris’ center. Universally connected by the Seine, 80% of the venues are within a 10 kilometer distance of the Olympic and Paralympic Zones, allowing 85% of athletes to stay less than 30 minutes away from their venue. Through the use of existing facilities that require minimal transportation, Paris can host an event that will aid in its goal to, hopefully, halve a previous carbon footprint of 3.86 million tons. The French aim for a decrease in emissions compared to that of the Tokyo Games in 2020. With Tokyo’s post-game estimation of 2.16 million tons of carbon dioxide, Paris has committed to a limit of 1.65 million tons and to offset any indirect impact with climate-positive projects. Meeting carbon emission goals for the games may prove challenging because of these indirect impacts, primarily the substantial travel emissions generated by spectators. This seems a daunting task when compared to the Tokyo games which managed to achieve low net emissions because of the lack of spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In accordance with the city’s holistic sustainability vision, Paris has placed emphasis on the importance of green catering. As an event that is responsible for serving 13 million meals, embracing sustainable food sources and partnerships now will set the city up for environmental prosperity even after the games.

In recognizing the environmental impact of certain food sources and resulting waste, Paris has quantified its objectives to reduce its carbon footprint. This eco-conscious catering approach is made up of 6 commitments: two times more plant-based food, 100% certified food (food that is sourced, produced and consumed in a responsible way), reduced plastic consumption, recycling of all uneaten food, reuse of all equipment and structures and hiring 10% of workers from professional integration programs. Athletes and spectators will have a wide variety of plant-based options at their disposal, with 60% of food and beverages available to spectators being vegetarian. With 80% of the total food supply being sourced from within France’s borders, the alternatives to traditional cuisine should hardly be noticed as food will be prepared by culinary professionals who are familiar with creating meals that make the best use of the seasonal menu. Expertise from the chefs and localized sourcing will leave little room for waste across both food and its packing. In its drive to cut down on single-use plastic, Paris’ catering teams will exercise the use of plastic alternatives and employ a “reducing, reusing, replacing and recycling” concept on drink and food containers.

Paris’ goal to minimize waste generation and increase localized food sourcing encourages a healthier lifestyle that will extend beyond the games and become a beacon for environmental change. Even during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, plastic in the Guanabara Bay made it difficult for sailing teams to compete. This problem only intensified after the games when produced waste registered at over 18,500 tons, most being non-renewables. Despite this, some of the food waste after those games was utilized by an Italian chef, who created meals for the homeless.

The Paris Olympics will not focus only on breaking athletic records, but on breaking new ground for environmental action, particularly in sustainable event management. Through reliance on a well-developed, effective public transit system and localizing operations within France to minimize travel distance, Paris is showcasing a dedication to environmental impact that will extend beyond the games. If successful, this will serve as an inspiring example for how a large-scale international event can align with sustainability goals to change not just experiences, but lifestyles.

Mira is a student at Brown University studying international and public affairs. Passionate about travel and language learning, she is eager to visit each continent to better understand the world and the people across it. In her free time she perfects her French, hoping to someday live in France working as a freelance journalist or in international affairs.

*The entrance to a Chinatown in Sydney. Lenny K Photography. CC BY 2.0.*

Explore 4 Chinatowns from Around the World

March 8, 2021

Travel to any of the inhabited continents and you will find Chinatowns, historical and contemporary ethnic enclaves of Chinese people outside of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. While there is no conclusive count as to how many Chinatowns exist, they will often be found in any community with a history of Chinese immigration.

The first Chinatown is considered to be Binondo, a neighborhood in the Philippines’ capital of Manila that developed in 1594. Since then, Chinatowns have developed around the world, most recently with Tijuana, Mexico’s La Mesa neighborhood in 2012.

The United States is home to some of the most famous Chinatowns, including those in San Francisco, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. That said, for those looking to travel abroad, here is a list of some of the most unique Chinatowns to be found.

1. El Barrio Chino, Havana

*The paifang marking the entrance to Havana’s Chinatown. Kaldari. CC0.*

Located just three blocks away from the Cuban capitol building, Havana’s Chinatown is a relic of prerevolutionary times. The neighborhood, which began to develop in the 1840s with the arrival of the first Chinese immigrants to the island, became the largest Asian ethnic enclave in all of Latin America by the 1920s.

Following the 1959 Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro and the 26th of July Movement, during which the country became communist, the vast majority of Chinese-Cubans fled to neighboring countries like the United States. However, beginning in the 1990s, the Cuban government began the process of revitalizing the neighborhood centered around its historical roots.

Today, the Chinese-Cuban population in Havana is small. However, visitors to El Barrio Chino have a variety of restaurants and shops to visit, most of which are centered around Calle Cuchillo. Popular favorites include Restuarante Guang Zhou, whose menu offers a blend of Cuban and Chinese cuisine, Sociedad China Chang, which centers its food around a buffet, and Restaurante Tien Tan, whose menu includes fish and pork dishes which utilize the best ingredients from the Chinese and Cuban kitchens.

2. Chinatown, Singapore

*An aerial view of Singapore’s Chinatown with the city skyline in the background. William Cho. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.*

While not necessarily an enclave in the traditional sense given that the majority of Singapore’s population is ethnic Chinese, Singapore’s Chinatown is one of the most historically and culturally significant neighborhoods of the city-state. While the appearance of a Chinese community has been documented in Singapore as early as 1330, the neighborhood was not officially designated as a Chinatown until 1822 when British colonizer Sir Stamford Raffles allocated the area west of the Singapore River as such.

Today, Singapore’s Chinatown is one of the most popular in the world. The neighborhood includes historically preserved sites such as the Sri Mariamman Temple, as well as more recent cultural icons like the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. Likewise, given that the city-state is world-renowned for its food culture, Chinatown is no exception. Popular spots for street food include the Chinatown Street Market, a pedestrian outdoor mall, and the Maxwell Food Centre, which features some of the best hawker center food including oyster cakes, peanut soup and chicken rice.

3. Quartier Asiatique, Paris

*A group of performers at Paris’ Chinese New Year parade. Passion Leica. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.*

While many Chinatowns around the globe have been around for centuries, Paris’ Quartier Asiatique is much more recent. In the late 1970s, many refugees from the Vietnam War settled in the 13th arrondissement. This was followed by later waves of ethnic Chinese immigrants coming from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Many of the ethnic Vietnamese immigrants later moved to other parts of France, leaving the neighborhood with a distinct Chinese presence.

Today, Paris’ Chinatown is considered to be the largest by population in Europe. Visitors to the neighborhood have a number of places to visit. The popular Asian supermarket chain, Tang Freres, is based in the neighborhood and offers a number of foods and goods shipped in directly from China. Restaurants such as Noodle Bar and Les Jardines de Mandchourie have some of the best Chinese food in the whole city. Likewise, the neighborhood has an annual Chinese New Year parade in February which is the largest parade in all of Paris.

4. Chinatown, Sydney

*People walking in Sydney’s Chinatown. blairwang. CC BY 2.0.*

Sydney’s Chinatown has a history rooted in movement. Many Chinese immigrants in the 1850s were drawn to Australia and settled in The Rocks, a neighborhood that gained the colloquial nickname “Chinese Quarter.” However, due to growing anti-immigrant sentiment and racism beginning in the late 1880s, Sydney’s Chinatown transitioned away from The Rocks to Campbell Street in the 1920s, before relocating again to Dixon and Hay streets, where the current Chinatown lies.

Today, Sydney’s Chinatown is world-renowned for its food and attractions. The Chinese Garden of Friendship, located just a block away from Dixon Street in Darling Harbour, was designed in conjunction with Sydney’s sister city of Guangzhou, China, and features carefully cultivated flora and beautiful architecture. Likewise, every Friday at 4 p.m., Dixon Street is taken over by the Chinatown Night Market. The stalls in the market feature everything from street food staples like dumplings and kebabs, to clothing and jewelry imported directly from China.

4 Abandoned Railroads that Have Been Brought Back to Life

August 7, 2020

Abandoned railroad tracks are everywhere. Although many trains are still running, they rarely hold the same mysterious charm as the ones that have been neglected. To many, trains signify a bygone era, an old means of transportation, and an opportunity to see the world without the drama of plane flights. While many enthusiasts have created databases of abandoned railroads, there has also been a wave of people who are remodeling these railroads to give them a new purpose and life.

The golden point of the Transcontinental Railroad. J. Stephen Conn. CC BY-NC 2.0

Golden Spike National Historical Park

The Golden Spike National Historical Park is home to the “golden spike,” the final spike needed to complete the United States’ Transcontinental Railroad. Located in Promontory, Utah, this park attracts about 60,000 visitors each year. While the site has an abundance of offerings, its main attraction is the “golden spike” itself. The Transcontinental Railroad was built over a period of six years, with the last spike being laid in 1869. It is worth noting that the Transcontinental Railroad was actually built by two separate companies, the eastbound Central Pacific Railroad and the westbound Union Pacific,. Nevertheless, the Transcontinental Railroad was a symbol of western progress at the time and finishing the railroad was cause for major celebration. The park hosts reenactments of the event every year on May 10, with last year being a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion.

A view from New York City’s High Line. Finchermac. CC BY-ND 2.0

The High Line

Located in New York City, the High Line is a refurbished railroad track that allows visitors to enjoy a picturesque 1.45-mile walk above Manhattan’s West Side. The line became fully operational in 1933 and transported supplies such as meat and produce, but it declined in use in the 1980s as people began to favor trucking for supply delivery. Although the High Line was set for demolition, a new project gained traction in the early 2000s that allowed for its conversion. Today, the High Line has integrated a multitude of sustainable practices, community engagement initiatives and small businesses into the overall experience. The walkway is adorned with over 500 different species of plants and trees and there are regular art installations that are either on the High Line or can be seen from it.

High Trestle Trail

The High Trestle Trail, a multi-use 25-mile trail on the outskirts of Des Moines, Iowa, is a popular biking and outdoor activity destination. The High Trestle Trail is one of many rail-to-trail projects, with this one opening in 2011. There are a multitude of amenities nearby, such as a bike shop, restaurants and visitor centers, but the trail itself contains the top points of interest. One such location is the High Trestle Trail Bridge, which has been dubbed “Iowa’s Stonehenge.” After the railway was decommissioned in 2003, Union Pacific wanted to reuse the steel beams of one of the bridges on the route but had no use for the original support structure. The company left 22 huge, 130-foot-tall concrete pillars which used to hold up the bridge. As interesting a landmark as this was, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation realized that these poles could have a more practical purpose. After an extensive project costing over $1.75 million, the bridge was revamped and now stands as an impressive light-up art installation that is an ode to the area’s mining history.

Nature, art and train tracks. French_Villain. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

La Petite Ceinture

This railroad is quite different from the others. It is located in Paris, France, and contains one of the best access points to the city’s catacombs. Additionally, this abandoned rail line is home to an abundance of graffiti and artwork. In terms of natural life, the area is now home to more than 200 different plant species and more than 70 types of animals. La Petite Ceinture was built intermittently between the years of 1852 and 1869 but has been unused since 1934. While the tunnels themselves can be dark and less than pleasant, the open areas of La Petite Ceinture offer an intriguing destination and a beautiful example of how people might organically reclaim abandoned spaces.

Phoebe Jacoby

is a Media Studies major and Studio Art minor at Vassar College who believes in the importance of sharing stories with others. Phoebe likes to spend her free time reading, drawing, and writing letters. She hopes to continue developing her skills as a writer and create work that will have a positive outward effect.

Graphic of Mona Lisa wearing sanitary mask. Folsom Natural. CC BY 2.0

Studying Abroad Amid Lockdown

May 7, 2020

According to the Institute of International Education, the University of Georgia ranks thirteenth in the nation for the number of students who study abroad. With over one hundred faculty-led programs and nearly 2,000 students studying abroad each year, global experiential learning promises an expanded worldview and diversified education.

During my second year pursuing a Spanish degree at the University of Georgia, I decided to study abroad in Valencia, Spain. Expecting to explore Europe for six months, I eagerly boarded a plane from Atlanta to Madrid with three bulky suitcases. From December to January, I spent my days attending lectures at a local university, traversing the Spanish countryside, and conversing with locals. Amid my cultural immersion, reports began to emerge about the coronavirus outbreak in China. I naively believed this novel disease would not impede trips to England, France, and Portugal.

By February, however, COVID-19 had inundated Europe, forcing many study abroad students to return home. UGA’s Office of Global Engagement, like many universities, consequently issued this statement: “The University of Georgia recognizes that international travel, communication, and partnerships are essential to UGA's academic, research, and outreach mission and supports these endeavors. Countries and areas that carry U.S. State Department Travel Advisory Level 3/4 require special consideration and review to manage and mitigate risk, and in many circumstances, require the avoidance of travel altogether.” After a soccer match against Milan, a coronavirus epicenter, Valencia’s travel advisory was raised to a level 2.

Fearing my study abroad program would abruptly end, I intended on visiting as much of Europe as possible. For three consecutive weeks, I took advantage of cheap airfare and traveled to London, Paris, and Lisbon. Each city’s hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions were practically vacant. I had imagined the streets of Paris, the city of romance and culture, to be bustling with music and lovers walking hand in hand. Yet, during the last week of February, Paris was eerily still. I waited for five minutes to climb the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, while most tourists wait over an hour. In the Louvre, which normally averages 15,000 visitors per day, I observed artwork like the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo in silence. Even Champs-Elysees, the most famous street in Paris, was deserted. Apart from the occasional Parisian in mask, it seemed I had the city to myself. Days after departing Paris, the government announced, “All gatherings of more than 5,000 people in confined spaces will be cancelled.” Infamous sites that I had just toured, like the Louvre and Eiffel Tower, were closed indefinitely.

On March 11, more chaos ensued as the World Health Organization’s Director General, Tedors Adhanom, declared the coronavirus a pandemic, stating, “We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear.” The following day, while I slept in my Valencia dorm, President Trump announced travel restrictions on 26 European countries, including Spain. Although the 30-day travel ban did not apply to legal residents of the United States, Spain simultaneously imposed a nationwide lockdown to combat the virus. Madrid barred travel to and from the city, and word spread that international flights would soon be suspended. In the early hours of March 12, I was awoken to program directors frantically pounding on my door. They affirmed we had a mere 24 hours to escape Spain on the final flight to Atlanta.

I hastily packed clothes and souvenirs and boarded a bus to Madrid, leaving behind two suitcases full of belongings and many unsaid farewells to Spanish friends. After a five-hour excursion and many failed attempts to enter the city due to strict quarantine orders, I finally arrived at the Madrid-Barajas Airport. Panicked passengers in makeshift masks and hazmat suits rushed to their gates. Travelers emptied suitcases into trash cans to avoid long check-in lines. University students tearfully begged customer service for tickets home. While rushing through security, the customs officer reviewing my ticket murmured, “You’re lucky you found a flight out of here. Volver pronto,” meaning “come back soon.” On March 14, one day after my return to the United States, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, declared a state of emergency which placed the country on lockdown and cancelled all outgoing flights. I had narrowly escaped an impending two-month state of emergency.

On March 13th, travelers in hazmat suits rush through the Madrid-Barajas Airport. Photo by Shannon Moran.

Upon arrival in Atlanta, CDC workers recommended 14-day quarantine and randomly screened a handful of passengers for fevers. On April 20, Georgia Governor Kemp disregarded public health officials by announcing, “We will allow gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, barbers, cosmetologists, hair designers, nail care artists, estheticians, and massage therapists to reopen their doors.” Following a chaotic return to the United States and cancellation of my study abroad experience, I continue to fear contracting and spreading COVID-19 in a state reopening. In spite of dismay and uncertainty, I witnessed the world at a pivotal moment in history. Amidst a worldwide pandemic, I visited Europe’s cultural epicenters, and volveré pronto, I will return soon.

Shannon is a Journalism major at the University of Georgia, minoring in English and Spanish. As a fluent Spanish speaker, she is passionate about languages, cultural immersion and human rights activism. She has visited seven countries and thirty states and hopes to continue traveling the world in pursuit of compelling stories.

How Curious George Escaped Nazi Germany

January 4, 2020

Curious George is the mischievous child that still lives inside us all, a swinging catastrophe with an envious joie de vivre. But everyone’s favorite chimp almost didn’t make it to the page. The story goes way back to 1940 as Nazi forces prepared to invade France. German-Jewish artists H.A. and Margret Rey fled Paris by bicycle, carrying the original manuscript that would later become “Curious George.” From there George traveled the globe, trekking down to Lisbon, sailing across the pond to Rio de Janeiro, finally making his home in New York. The rest, of course, is history, as our primate protagonist climbed his way into our hearts and onto the world’s stage.

A banner in Rome commemorates the life of Mireille Knoll, a Holocaust survivor who was murdered in her apartment in Paris last year. Jove. CC0.

Anti-Semitism on the Rise Again in Europe

January 15, 2019

In October of last year, a gunman in the US city of Pittsburgh opened fire at a synagogue, murdering eleven people and wounding six before being apprehended by police. On New Year’s Eve, a Berkeley resident was charged with leaving a fake bomb on the campus of the University of California that was covered in “anti-Jewish writings”. The man was charged with dropping off a fake explosive but was not charged with a hate crime. With the recent rash of violent outbreaks in American cities and xenophobic rhetoric coming from the White House, it is easy to think that hatred and bigotry are exclusively American traits. However, one of the darkest chapters in anti-Semitism occurred in Europe in the 1940s, when around six million Jews, roughly two-thirds of the Jewish population in Europe at the time, were murdered by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime. Now, over 70 years later, the very same mentality that led to these heinous acts is once again emerging in the hearts and minds of Europeans.

A CNN poll conducted in Europe last year revealed that anti-Semitism is rising in the continent as the memory of the Holocaust gradually fades. Roughly a third of Europeans polled said they knew little or nothing about the Holocaust, and a quarter believed Jews held too much power and influence in business and finance. Among European nations, France had the largest incidence of anti-Semitism, as it is home to the largest population of Jews in Europe. Anti- Semitic acts in France increased by 69 percent in 2018. Most notable among these was the murder Mireille Knoll, an 85-year-old holocaust survivor who was killed in her apartment last year. French authorities attribute this to growing hostility to the influx of Muslims from the Middle East, a phenomenon which is being called, “the new anti-Semitism.”

In Paris, thousands of French citizens turned out for a "White March", a silent memorial march in Knoll's honor. Olvey. CC BY-SA 4.0.

The study of history allows us to learn the pattern of human behavior and make predictions as to how people may act in a given time and place. History has shown that with the right push, a group can easily become a mob, and even the most “enlightened” cultures can experience rapid cultural backsliding. The current situation in Europe shows how important the teaching and re-teaching of events like the Holocaust are, not necessarily for the purpose of living in the past but rather, trying to prevent such horrific events from occurring again in the future.

JONATHAN ROBINSON is an intern at CATALYST. He is a travel enthusiast always adding new people, places, experiences to his story. He hopes to use writing as a means to connect with others like himself.

5 Cities That Are Leaders in Sustainable Public Transportation Initiatives

April 2, 2018

The World Economic Forum released its most recent Sustainable Cities Mobility Index, which ranks some of the globe’s largest metropolises based on both the viability of transport and its relative footprint.

The Index measures factors such as connectedness via public transport, including metros and buses, as well as pedestrian accessibility, ease of use by cyclists, among others. What unites each of the five cities featured here seems to be the overall strategy of incentivizing use of public transport, while disincentivizing the tendency to commute by automobile. In this way, public transportation systems trade on efficiency: by running frequently, integrating renewable energy sources, and maximizing often-limited physical space in the crowded cities, the public transport strategies of each of the cities listed have served to reduce car emissions significantly.

HONG KONG. Named number one on the sustainable mobility index, Hong Kong has constructed an impressive MTR metro system, which is responsible for 90% of residents’ daily journeys. Likewise, the cost of transport in Hong Kong has remained relatively low, permitting accessibility to all residents, further disincentivizing travel by car. In fact, due in large degree to the success of the public transportation system, less than 20% of residents of Hong Kong own a car.
ZURICH. At number two on the list, Zurich has demonstrated a great deal of success minimizing transportation by car, with just 37% of the population owning a car, as well as a little over a quarter of journeys measured occurring by car. The majority of public transportation in Zurich occurs by high-speed light rail, a system widely recognized to be one of the most energy- and space-efficient modes of public transport.
PARIS. In 2012, Paris pledged to reduce travel emissions by 60% within the most populated areas of its city, introducing more networks of pedestrian walkways and bike paths, incentivizing the use of bicycles and electric cars through two new city rental systems, as well as altering delivery systems such that it limits the number of diesel-fueled vehicles driving through the city each day. Parisian city officials have also been working to initiate regular “car-free” days, as well as other measures that promote alternative forms of transport.
SEOUL. Throughout the past decade, Seoul has pioneered a significant number of innovations that promote sustainable mobility. An inefficient highway system has been repurposed to become a large public park with an extensive network of pedestrian causeways. Moreover, Seoul has employed specified bus lanes, which have increased by nearly one million the number of citizens who use the public transport system each day, as opposed to driving. The significantly greater efficiency of public transportation, as well as the ease of access afforded to pedestrian traffic has cut down greatly on the number of citizens commuting by car, one of the most inefficient and least sustainable modes of travel.
PRAGUE. Prague has undertaken the “Tune Up Prague” initiative, just one of a series of sustainable transportation proposals enacted under the 2015 Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. The “tune up” has focused on increasing foot and bicycle travel through the facilitation of pedestrian pathways. The proposal has also worked to bring accessible, sustainable transportation to all, seeking to bump up the amount of wheelchair-accessible metro stations by 23%, such that 95% of the city’s metro stations are wheelchair-accessible.

In integrating energy and space-efficient public transport with initiatives that promote pedestrian and cyclist travel, the five cities listed above have developed transportation networks that are both accessible and sustainable. Incentivizing public transport increases a city’s ability to experiment with “greener” travel, while simultaneously reducing automobile emissions. The ingenuity of each of the five metropolises provides a crucial example for other major cities, working towards a more sustainable, more connected future.

Should one use an airbnb?

April 12, 2017

From the consumer’s side, the sharing economy is pretty fucking rad. Anyone who grew up riding in taxis and then suddenly switched to Uber knows why: getting into a cab used to be like stepping into a scene from Mad Max: Fury Road, with drivers who were very frequently about as sane as the War Boys.

Uber drivers, however, depend on good ratings from those riding with them, and as such, have an incentive to not drive like lunatics. Likewise, you as the consumer get rated, so you have an incentive to be on your best behavior.

Consumers get the same sort of benefit with Airbnb: it’s not free, like traveler favorite Couchsurfing, so it doesn’t have the same sketchy feel, and it grants customers the opportunity to stay in actual homes in the neighborhoods they’re visiting, rather than in a generic hotel room.

The problem is that the “sharing economy” manages to conveniently undercut decades of labor laws, housing laws, and civil rights laws in ways that the legal system hasn’t caught up to just yet, which is causing some pretty ugly side effects. Uber deserves attention — it dodges and fights regulations that would apply to other cab companies, underpays its drivers, and leave cities that set a higher standard for them — but for now, we’re just going to focus on Airbnb.

What’s wrong with Airbnb?

Airbnb has two really big problems with it that ultimately stem from the same issue. And to be fair, these aren’t necessarily issues that were created by Airbnb, so much as they are issues that stem from the entire concept of the “sharing economy.”

1. Airbnb is playing by a different set of rules.

I live in the seaside town of Asbury Park, New Jersey, and Airbnb is a thing here: a lot of people will rent out their homes for a weekend to get some extra money, and Airbnb and its competitor VRBO are the simplest ways to do it. This is a tourist town, so the town encourages people to invite tourists into their homes. But some of the larger businesses in town are hotels, and there’s a good number of boutique hotels and BnB’s as well. And while they are large for the town, they aren’t mega-conglomerates like Hilton or Marriott. They’re small businesses. So it’s easy for them to be undercut by Airbnb. A homeowner’s profit margin doesn’t need to be as big as a hotelier’s — they aren’t running a full operation, they’re just trying to make some extra cash.

All of this would be fine — competition makes the market work, etc., etc. But users of websites like Airbnb and VRBO often don’t submit to fire safety and coding regulations that would be required of hotels and regular BnB’s, despite being legally required to. It’s also relatively easy for the Airbnb hosts to dodge paying their taxes, as they’re small enough to fly under the radar. This puts the Airbnb users at an unfair advantage, and it pisses a lot of hotel and BnB owners off.

Airbnb presents themselves as scrappy underdogs fighting big mean corporate hotel chains. When New York hoteliers claimed Airbnb was cutting into their business, Nick Papas, an Airbnb spokesperson told Bloomberg News:

“In fact, without Airbnb many of these travelers wouldn’t be able to visit New York City at all or would have cut their trip short. While the big hotels have been clear that they are concerned about losing the opportunity to price gouge consumers, we hope they will disclose the percent of their profits that stay in New York City and the percent they send to corporate headquarters outside of New York and, even, outside of the country.”

But Airbnb is not an underdog — last year, it was valued at $20 billion. That’s in the same league as Hilton ($27.8 billion) and Marriott ($22.9 billion). Since Airbnb isn’t responsible for making sure it’s users are paying taxes and are up to code, it’s basically just playing with the bumpers up.

By presenting themselves as a mere platform connecting people in the “sharing economy,” rather than as the manager of a huge network of small vendors, Airbnb is skirting regulations and making out like bandits.

2. Airbnb may be the reason “the rent is too damn high.”

The publication Grist explained the basics of this problem in a recent article, using the example of Tarin Towers, a resident of a rent-controlled building in San Francisco. Her building was bought by a real estate developer who wanted to charge way more for the rooms, so he offered the residents buyouts. Towers did the math and realized that even with the buyout, she wouldn’t be able to afford a new apartment in the city’s absurdly inflated rental market. From Grist:

“Towers held out as her old neighbors left and new tenants started moving in. Unlike the old neighbors, these new people were young, mobile, transient. And there were a lot of them. [Her landlord] O’Sullivan, it turned out, had leased the building to a startup called the Vinyasa Homes Project. Towers soon discovered that Vinyasa had listed her building on Airbnb, advertising it as a ‘co-creative house.’ The listing made it sound almost like a commune. ‘You want to join a community of like-minded peers who are doing inspirational things?’ it read. ‘This is the place for you.’ Unlike in the communes of yesteryear, however, each bed is going for more than $1,500 a month — and these are bunk beds in shared rooms. That means each apartment could now be bringing in $10,000 a month in rent.”

Towers eventually was forced out of her apartment, and took the buyout. She can’t afford a new rental in the city, so she’s housesitting until she figures something out.

This is a problem everywhere, though: in Barcelona, in Berlin, in New York, in New Orleans. It’s particularly tragic in the Big Easy, as it’s forcing out the last long-term residents who held on in neighborhoods devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

It’s the worst for cities with tight housing markets and a heavy flow of tourists. Remember the New York City mayoral candidate whose platform was “the rent is too damn high”? It may have gotten that high in part because of services like Airbnb — it’s way easier to wait for someone who will pay $2 grand a month for an apartment when you can rent the apartment out for exorbitant prices to travelers in the short term.

You could argue that Airbnb isn’t responsible for the misuse of its service. But they aggressively fight any measure that would put the onus of responsibility on them. When San Francisco tried to pass a measure that would restrict the number of nights a year a unit could be used for short-term rentals, Airbnb spent $8 million fighting against it. When San Francisco tried to pass a rule that would force Airbnb to ensure its hosts were up-to-code, they donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local political campaigns.

Some cities have fought back effectively. Barcelona has seen a population drop in its historic neighborhoods thanks in large part to its tourism industry, and as a result, have started slapping Airbnb with fines for offering apartments that weren’t registered with the city, and Berlin and Paris and even New York have been fighting back as well. But this is a problem that’s far from solved.

3. It’s not totally Airbnb’s fault.

In Airbnb’s defense, there’s no good business reason they would voluntarily take responsibility for policing their users. It’s not a charity, and it would be very expensive for them to check up on every single host. It would be a guaranteed way to decrease profits, which, incidentally isn’t legal — companies are required by to take actions that benefit their shareholders.

But this is why we have regulation. Airbnb isn’t tasked with doing what’s best for the local communities: our governments are. So this is a problem that’s fixed not by Airbnb being benevolent, but with good policies and effective enforcement. Which means it’s a battle that needs to be had on a city-by-city and country-by-country basis.

The problem is that we simply don’t know how serious the problem is yet — there’s been a little bit of research, but it’s far from conclusive, and has possibly been biased against services like Airbnb. There’s no reason to think that good policies couldn’t help solve the problems that Airbnb and its “sharing economy” counterparts cause. But more work needs to be done.

So what can we as travelers do?

Let’s be up front: staying at an Airbnb is a cooler experience than staying at a hotel. I have a friend who stayed in a goddamn castle in Italy. I know people who have stayed in treehouses in Oregon and igloos in Norway. In the Netherlands, you can stay in an honest-to-god windmill. And it’s cool that we’re giving regular people this platform to make some extra money, host out-of-town guests, and maybe try something new. So I won’t say “don’t ever stay at an Airbnb or a VRBO.” This is the future, and the solution to its problems will be through systemic change, not through any single individual’s actions. But it’s also time to call bullshit:

There is no such thing as the sharing economy. It’s just called the economy, and it’s been around for millennia.

Are you trading goods and services for cash? Yeah — that’s the economy. You’re just doing it in a different place. Airbnb and Uber haven’t reinvented the economy, they’ve just used the internet to create a new space in which economic transactions can happen.

So with that in mind, here are a couple of things you can to be a part of the solution:

1. Support fair regulation of Airbnb & VRBO in your hometown.

If your town has a lot of tourists, try to be supportive of government attempts to regulate businesses like Airbnb and VRBO. The companies will do shitty ad campaigns about how your city is turning it’s back on money and innovation, but that’s just a scare tactic. Anyone who has lived in a tourist town knows that, even if the economy is dependent on tourist dollars, what’s good for the tourists isn’t always good for the locals. Try and push your local governments to strike a balance between making money and supporting the local community. Get involved. Get organized. This is pretty much always the best solution to anything.

2. Try to avoid the shitty Airbnb hosts.

You can take steps to avoid giving money to the douchebags who are misusing the service. Think of it as another thing you want to research, along with “safety,” “service,” and “cleanliness.” In short, you want to seek out spots that the current owners actually live in.

Becky Caudill over at Casa Caudill has some great tips for spotting the shitty hosts using the platform itself. Here’s what she suggests looking for when you’re checking out the photos of the location provided by the host:

Seek out properties that are decorated like you or your friends would decorate your own homes.
Look for plants (not just fresh flowers).
Check out the art. Is everything from Ikea or another mass market supplier? Or are there original prints or photographs on the wall? On shelves? Is there any artwork at all?
Does the kitchen come with basic supplies like salt, pepper, olive oil, etc? People who live somewhere will have these things on hand. (Although maybe not in NYC? It’s my understanding from friends there that people eat out every night and never cook so maybe they don’t need these things?)
Do the owners read? Are there books other than travelogues visible in the pics? (And for goodness sake, if you see hundreds of travel brochures that’s a dead giveaway this place is operated solely as a vacation rental property).
Stay in real neighborhoods, not tourist areas."

It also helps to delve into the comments a bit. Can you get a sense from the comments as to whether this is actually someone’s home, or is it more of an “operation”? Are there big discrepancies between the reports of the rooms? That could be a sign that there are multiple rooms that are lived in by different people in your building, indicating that this is being done by a landlord, not an owner or a tenant.

And of course, if you end up in one of these “operations” in spite of your best efforts, it’s okay: just go onto Airbnb and mention it in the comments. Helping others identify exploitative hosts is as important as helping them identify bigots or creeps. And that’s what the review process is for.

As always, the name of the game is damage control — try your best to support the local communities you’re visiting. Sometimes you’ll fail. Other times you won’t. And don’t assume that all things that are shiny and new are inherently good.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DON'T BE A DICK TRAVEL.

MATT HERSHBERGER

Matt Hershberger is a writer and blogger who focuses on travel, culture, politics, and global citizenship. His hobbies include scotch consumption, profanity, and human rights activism. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and his Kindle. You can check out his work at the Matador Network, or over at his website.