The Complexities of Student Housing

Abstract

Student housing is a crucial contributor to urban revitalization and neighborhood change. This paper offers a framework for conceptualizing student housing, engaging the complexity of the sector, including universities, students, and local governments, and placing it within the context of urban housing markets. Amidst university budget shortfalls and enrollment expansion, a dedicated student housing industry has emerged to fill housing shortfalls. The industry has reshaped local development patterns, with developers, operators, and investors capitalizing on the demand. Drawing from diverse academic research, this paper synthesizes insights into the form, processes, and implications of student housing, examining its relationship with higher education trends, its impact on neighborhood dynamics, and the interplay of market forces and institutional priorities. Focused primarily on the North American context, the discourse lays the groundwork for a renewed understanding of the importance of student housing in university communities and the ways local policy can help shape it.

Keywords:

• Student housing
• neighborhood change
• urban development

Acknowledgments

This article is part of a special issue on student housing, guest edited by: Sarah Mawhorter, Meagan Ehlenz, Kathe Newman, and Rolf Pendall. The authors and guest editors thank the scholars represented within the special issue for their contributions to the student housing conversation. We see many opportunities for the field to advance knowledge. and policy related to student housing; the authors in this issue do a great deal to move the conversation forward. Lastly, we appreciate the support and insights provided by Housing Policy Debate’s editors, including Vincent Reina (current), George Galster (past-interim), and Tom Sanchez (past).

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Meagan M. Ehlenz

Meagan M. Ehlenz, AICP, is Associate Professor and Associate Director of Planning in the School of Geographical Sciences & Urban Planning at Arizona State University.

Sarah L. Mawhorter

Sarah L. Mawhorter, is Assistant Professor of housing in the real estate and planning programs of the University of Groningen Faculty of Spatial Sciences.

Rolf Pendall

Rolf Pendall, AICP, is Professor in the Department of Urban & Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.