Shared urbanism: Big data on accommodation sharing in urban Australia

Abstract: As affordability pressures and tight rental markets in global cities mount, online shared accommodation sites proliferate. Home sharing arrangements present dilemmas for planning that aims to improve health and safety standards, while supporting positives such as the usage of dormant stock and the relieving of rental pressures on middle/lower income earners. Currently, no formal data exists on this internationally growing trend. Here, we present a first quantitative glance on shared accommodation practices across all major urban centers of Australia enabled via collection and analysis of thousands of online listings. We examine, countrywide, the spatial and short time scale temporal characteristics of this market, along with preliminary analysis on rents, dwelling types and other characteristics. Findings have implications for housing policy makers and planning practitioners seeking to monitor and respond to housing policy and affordability pressures in formal and informal housing markets.