New frontiers of studentification: The commodification of student housing as a driver of urban change. Issue 3 (15th July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kinton, Chloe; Smith, Darren P.; Harrison, John; Culora, Andreas
• Is Part Of: Geographical journal. Volume 184:Issue 3(2018)
• Page Start: 242
• Page End: 254
• Publication Date: 2018-07-15
• Subjects: de‐studentification -- housing affordability -- studentification -- urban change -- urban policy; Geography -- Periodicals; 910
• DOI: 10.1111/geoj.12263
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0016-7398

Abstract

Abstract : Studentification has permeated policy‐orientated agendas on community cohesion in different national contexts and is of increasing public relevance at a time of changing systems of higher education. To date, studentification has been treated as a process of urban change that leads to the physical downgrading of neighbourhoods and social conflict, tied to concentrations of low‐quality student houses in multiple occupations (HMOs). Our aim in this paper is to widen conceptual understandings of studentification, drawing upon a novel study of this process in Loughborough, UK. Focusing on the Kingfisher Estate, we provide the first investigation of the formation of a studentified neighbourhood, using data from administrative data sets to track tenurial transformations from owner‐occupation to private rental shared housing. Our analyses are extended from a survey of student preferences for accommodation, and interviews with local community representatives, to reveal a production–consumption interface for high‐quality student housing in Kingfisher. We argue that this is illustrative of a new frontier of studentification, which emphasises the volatility of student housing markets. Crucially, these dynamics are having a significant influence on broader changing urban geographies, such as the de‐studentification of other neighbourhoods, and the overall supply of (affordable) housing. Our paper concludes by arguing for a wider conceptualisation of studentification that does not inherently view the process as a harbinger of downgraded urban environments. From a policy perspective, our research stresses the urgent need for different place‐specific solutions and policy interventions to mitigate the challenges of studentification. Abstract : Focussing on the Kingfisher Estate, we provide the first investigation of the formation of a studentified neighbourhood, using data from administrative data sets to track tenurial transformations from owner‐occupation to private rental shared housing. Our analyses are deepened from a survey of student preferences for accommodation, and interviews with local community representatives, to reveal a production–consumption interface for high‐quality student housing in Kingfisher. We argue that this is illustrative of a new frontier of studentification, which emphasises the volatility of student housing markets. Crucially, these dynamics are having a significant influence on broader changing urban geographies, such as the de‐studentification of other neighbourhoods, and the overall supply of (affordable) housing.