Studentification and student experiences

Studentification broadly refers to the ways in which university locations are affected by the seasonal in- and out-migration of students, and its rapid growth has transformed how students access and engage with cities, universities and university life. In a spatial context, studentification can be produced horizontally, through the spread of shared housing conversions, or vertically in purpose-built student accommodation developments. Both horizontal and vertical studentification are interconnected, but contrasting, forms of gentrification that produce social, cultural and economic opportunities and challenges for communities. Horizontal studentification portrays students as ‘apprentice gentrifiers’ who actively shape the social, cultural, economic and physical characteristics of term-time spaces through student-centric practices. Conversely, the re-packaging and marketisation of vertical studentification recognises students as ‘apprentice consumers’ who optimise the city more passively according to their tastes and desires. Hence, while students’ identities, consumption habits and educational legacies are indelibly marked onto, and embedded in, the landscapes of university spaces, studentification is a dynamic process that morphs according to the changing economic, political, social and cultural characteristics of urban life.