Why so many people live in cities? And why so many people want to see other cities? When we travel, why we choose to see some iconic city, even though we may live in another such place? What is the reason that cities hold such spell upon us? And why for the international community the creation of sustainable cities is a fundamental goal for this decade?

What attracts us to cities is their character, the way that people live in certain city. We have read stories about great cities, watched movies, we have seen photos. One would think that there is no need to travel to iconic cities, we all know what their landmarks look like. However, the more iconic city is, more people want to come and experience it for themselves. In the era of social media, it is not only iconic cities that are attractive to tourists. Even small cities get represented on social media and attract their share of visitors.

Why sustainable cities today?

Sometimes when we come to visit a city, we just jump from place to place, but what we are really searching for is connection. We want to immerse ourselves and to feel the ‘vibe’ of the city that attracted us in the first place. Character of the city is defined by its people, and people who are living in the city are looking for opportunities. They come to work with likeminded people and to swap ideas with people who have diverse skills and experiences. They also come for culture and opportunities to spend their free time.

All of that also defines the expectations of a traveller. Every iconic building, every museum, every landmark square is an expression of people who live in the city and of those who lived there in the past. It is the expression of their reason for living there. By visiting a city, we express our interest in their worldview, in what have motivated and driven them, both in economic and cultural terms. 

Past generations brought their culture and technologies to the cities: theatres, universities, water, transport, electricity…

Our generation brings to the cities multiculturalism, diversity, digital technologies, and sustainability. 

We may not see it as such because it touches so many diverse aspects of our lives, and it is still developing, but sustainability is one of the key technologies of our generation. It is ‘The’ infrastructure that we are building, the new foundation for living.

SDGs – Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Goal 11 of SDGs is titled “Sustainable cities and communities”, and it states that sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces. We need to create safe and affordable housing and basic services, build resilient communities and economies, and improve participation and inclusion.

More than half of us live in cities, so the Goal 11, creating sustainable cities and communities, concerns us in the cities that we live in, but also in the cities that we visit.

Through Community powered tourism we can give our contribution and enrich our experiences, whether we are hosts or guests, in our endless quest to visit, and to receive visitors, with the goal to meet other people and satisfy our curiosity and get to know how they live.

Community powered tourism is a key component of sustainable cities

Cities are made of people. People join into communities, and communities come together to make cities through their businesses and customs. Historically speaking communities were geographically defined, but today with digital technologies it is easy to find community of likeminded people outside of our close environment.

One of such digital communities is Fairbnb.coop. It is community of people who like to travel and who think alike about sustainable tourism and its role in building sustainable cities. Fairbnb.coop builds community powered tourism by supporting local communities of people who live authentically at the places that Fairbnb.coop facilitates tourists to visit.

Cities without their citizens are just scenography, and cityscapes are as fragile and as resilient as landscapes. They are evolving and changing all the time. They can be severely damaged, but they can also bounce back. Cities are systems, just like natural ecologies.

When we understand this, the importance of local people and communities for our experience as travellers, there is no alternative to community powered tourism. As part of sustainable technology package, it is the only long-term viable solution for cities, but also the only one that gives the visitors full value of city experience for their money.