The Diverse Geographies of Studentification: Living Alongside People Not Like Us

Recent discussions of studentification have emphasised the development of exclusive purpose-built student accommodation in city centres, shifting the focus away from Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in established residential neighbourhoods. In this paper we explore the growth of student housing on a former social-rented (council) housing estate, and the social friction that it has created-arguing that the production of student HMO has remained prolific, and is pushing the studentification frontier into outer-city deprived communities. Drawing on empirical evidence from a former social-rented housing estate, we explore the recent emergence of a 'student area' where student occupation is having marked impacts on a relatively deprived local population. These findings have implications for urban policy making, given they highlight the negative outcomes of studentification in deprived communities, and reveal the challenge this poses for providing affordable housing, and engendering sustainable communities in university towns.