10th U6+ Consortium of African Universities International Conference

Cape Town is undergoing significant urban transformation driven by tourism growth and the rise of digital nomadism. This includes extended rental stays and forms of urban tourism facilitated by digital platforms. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, digital nomadism has been enabled by tourism recovery strategies and evolving visa frameworks, intensifying the use of short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb. While contributing to economic growth, these developments raise concerns regarding tourism-led gentrification and socio-spatial inequality. This study examines how digital nomadism and platform-based accommodation intersect with urban change, and how policy responses address these dynamics. A scoping review was conducted using a structured PRISMA approach and Boolean search strings. The study synthesised 51 sources published between 2016 and 2025, including peer-reviewed and grey literature. Sources were screened using defined inclusion criteria, and thematic analysis was applied. The review addressed two questions: how digital nomadism is conceptualised in relation to urban change and short-term rentals, and how policy responses address gentrification and housing affordability. The findings indicate that digital nomadism is conceptualised as a form of flexible, platform-mediated mobility closely linked to short-term rental markets. This contributes to increased demand for flexible accommodation in constrained housing markets, accelerating tourism-led gentrification and socio-economic inequality in Cape Town. The review further reveals fragmented and weakly coordinated policy responses, with limited integration across tourism, housing, and spatial planning frameworks. The study contributes to debates on tourism-led gentrification by foregrounding the role of digital nomadism in shaping urban space within an African context. It highlights the need for integrated policy approaches that align tourism development with housing and urban planning objectives.