As several European countries begin to turn the attention to what comes after the coronavirus pandemic, their cities are looking at ways to re-imagine themselves. Milan's plan to reduce traffic, for instance, may prove to be an inspiration for urban planners. Another aspect of European city life that could change as a result of the pandemic is the holiday rental market, The Guardian reports.
Major European cities clogged by tourists, like Barcelona, Paris, and Dublin, have complained that businesses like Airbnb have driven up rents in their city and contributed to housing shortages. But with tourism in steep decline at the moment, officials believe there's a chance those apartments could wind up back in the hands of locals. "We hope to see a third or even a half of these licensed tourist apartments become normal apartments to rent over the next three years," said Janet Sanz, the deputy mayor of Barcelona, which is home to 9,600 licensed holiday apartments, plus thousands of unlicensed ones.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
RFK Jr.: How to destroy vaccinationFeature Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaces all 17 members of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice
-
The god in the machineFeature An AI model with superhuman intelligence could soon become reality. Should we be worried?
-
ICE: Targeting essential workersFeature After a brief pause, the Trump administration resumes its mass deportation plan
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff displaySpeed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
