Before displacement: studentification, campus-led gentrification and rental market transformation in a multiethnic neighborhood (Parc-Extension, Montréal)

ABSTRACT

This article explores a case of campus-led neighborhood change that weaves together an analysis of gentrification, studentification and displacement. Contributing to the understanding of displacement pressure, this empirical study employs a temporal perspective and an innovative mixed method that captures the shifting state of the rental market and the perceptions of neighborhood change as understood by immigrant and low-income residents of Parc-Extension. We analyze how studentification is promoted in a campus-led gentrification case study, showing how both gentrification and studentification participate in the rise of evictions and displacement pressures for long term residents. By documenting the residential experience in rental housing through semi-structured interviews and data mining of rental listings on a popular platform in Canada (Kijiji), we propose an empirical perspective on displacement pressure and contribute to the development of this concept in gentrification and studentification studies. The article begins by reviewing the literature on gentrification-induced displacement, displacement pressure, state-led gentrification and studentification. This is followed by contextualizing our Montréal case study. We then outline our mixed methodologies and explain our data collection by web-scraping and fieldwork modalities. Finally, we discuss our results showing how the mechanism of displacement pressure can be linked with studentification and new-build, campus-led gentrification.

KEYWORDS:

• Displacement pressure
• state-led and new-build gentrification
• studentification
• rental market
• mixed methods

Acknowledgements

The authors are all members of CRACH - Collectif de Recherche et d'ACtion sur l'Habitat.

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 The definition of the creative class is based on the one given by the city of Montréal (2013). The job categories selected (information and cultural industries; finance and insurance; professional, scientific and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; educational services) are based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

2 All names of survey participants have been changed to respect their anonymity and some interviews were translated from French.