Two researchers at Northeastern University compared Airbnb data and crime stats for Boston neighborhoods and found that an increase in Airbnb units is

Northeastern study says violent crime increases when Airbnb units open up in Boston neighborhoods

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2021-07-17 18:30:04

Two researchers at Northeastern University compared Airbnb data and crime stats for Boston neighborhoods and found that an increase in Airbnb units is followed a year or so later by an increase in violent crime.

Their study, which uses data from Boston census tracts - so areas smaller than traditional Boston neighborhoods - only goes through 2018. That might make the study more of a historical review than a predictive model, at least for Boston, since the City Council and then Mayor Walsh approved a new ordinance that year that drastically limits the potential number of short-term rentals in Boston.

Airbnb, of course, calls the study complete trash, says the methodology is all wrong and you can't extrapolate across the US from data just from Boston, and besides, crime is rising everywhere and you can't blame that on Airbnb.

In their study, Dan O’Brien, associate professor of public policy and urban affairs and Babak Heydari, associate professor of engineering, said their findings showed an increase in violent crime in particular, not of other types of crime, and that the increase was not due to Boston attracting fighty tourists looking for a bout with the locals - or that locals are enjoying preying on tourists.