Sharing Homes and Beds: Baptist-Bootlegger Coalitions and the Politics of Authenticity in the Regulation of Los Angeles's Short-Term Rental Markets

《Sharing Homes and Beds: Baptist-Bootlegger Coalitions and the Politics of Authenticity in the Regulation of Los Angeles's Short-Term Rental Markets》

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作者: Yotala Oszkay

来源: URBAN AFFAIRS REVIEW,Vol.60,Issue1,P.

语言: 英文

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摘要: IntroductionAs regular participation in associations declines, innovators, consumers, and social movements increasingly channel their civic energies via the marketplace (Cohen 2003; King and Pearce 2010; Putnam 2001; Rao 2008). Corporations field calls from activists to change products and practices or sometimes become activists themselves, utilizing (or co-opting) social movement participation and tactics for their own purposes (Rao 2008; Rea and Walker 2014; Walker and Oszkay 2020). In “Baptist-Bootlegger” coalitions, civic and market actors combine their respective moral authority (Baptists) and resources (Bootleggers) to advance a shared regulatory agenda (Yandle 1983). While these alliances can be politically strategic, they can also engender infighting and cognitive dissonance by bringing together moral and economic motives. How, then, do these coalitions organize their distinct interests toward shared policy goals, and what consequences do these forms of political organization have for urban policymaking?These questions are particularly consequential for short-term rental markets in the platform economy, which reconfigure once opposed interest groups (e.g., management vs. labor, homeowners vs. tenants) in the context of urban market regulation. These markets employ “gig” workers or “hosts” who rent housing space for income via online platforms like Airbnb (Ravenelle 2019). Because of their popularity and how they reorganize urban housing, they pose a problem for municipal policymakers, who eventually must incorporate these markets into regulatory schemes. As local officials draft policies, they involve platform participants as well as incumbents in accommodation and housing markets, who feel short-term rentals threaten hotels’ competitive advantage, valuable housing stock, and neighborhood character. These contentious politics pit short-term rental firms and their users against hotel corporations, hotel labor, and local neighborhood and housing advocacy organizations.Expanding on theories of urban governance and political organization, I compare two such Baptist-Bootlegger coalitions in a local case of short-term rental market (i.e., Airbnb, HomeAway/VRBO) regulation, showing how they organized their distinct moral and economic interests to influence the policy in Los Angeles, California, USA. I argue that a subtly coordinated partnership of local housing groups, neighborhood activists, and hotel market incumbents leveraged their individual authenticity and resources to articulate a shared vision with policymakers. Conversely, an opposing coalition of short-term rental platforms and hosts more explicitly organized their efforts under a framework that conflated economic and moral claims; this hybrid organizational identity was perceived as less authentic by policymaking audiences and precluded potentially more strategic partnerships. This study contributes to theories on urban politics and policymaking while also highlighting the policy outcomes associated with new forms of urban civic engagement.