1,000 City Portals and Counting

A Milestone in Civic Tech, Four Years in the Making

In 2020, a small group of us at Airbnb imagined a new way to collaborate with local governments—one grounded in transparency, trust, and real-time data. We called it the City Portal.

What started as a bold idea is now a global tool: more than 1,000 governments around the world use the City Portal to access insights, enforce local rules, and better understand short-term rentals in their communities.

I’m incredibly proud to be one of the original creators of this tool, alongside brilliant collaborators like Laura Spanjian, Divya Kumaraiah, Kristiane Skolmen, Mara Giorgio, Chris Lehane, and Nathan Blecharczyk.

This milestone matters—not just for Airbnb, but for the public sector at large. Because governments deserve modern tools. Because tech doesn’t operate in a vacuum. And because the rise of AI and other advances will continue to reshape society in ways that hit local governments first and hardest.

City Portal proves what’s possible when platforms design for public impact from day one. It’s a model I hope more companies follow:

  • Invest in civic infrastructure

  • Partner with communities

  • Take responsibility for unintended consequences

Tech can do good. But partnership is what makes it meaningful.

Here’s to the next 1,000.

Abby Kiefer