Hiding in the bushes: the social and political dynamics in near-campus communities and the case of student housing in Hamilton, Ontario

Abstract

From the St. Scholastica Day Riots of 1355 to contemporary conflicts between residents and students, near-campus communities have been the sites of sustained and notable tension. A key factor in the cause of this tension is the short-term tenure of students in private-market rentals created from the conversion of single-detached residences. Using the case of student housing surrounding McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, an analysis of the location of private- market rentals and the perceptions of the established community of a ‘creeping studentification’ are tied to conflicts that effective planning strategies and municipal regulation can address.