The Changing Role of Student Housing as Social Infrastructure

Abstract

The role of student housing within social infrastructure provision is arguably overlooked. This is a vital issue, as purpose-built student accommodation provides a significant stock of affordable accommodation for students in European university cities while also supporting their social integration in the urban environment. Although an increasing involvement of for-profit student home developers and providers has been diversifying the landscape of student housing across European university cities in the last decade, this change has been mainly associated with the internationalisation of students’ mobility and the financialisation processes driven by private investors. Subsequently, this article expands these supply and demand side perspectives by localising student housing as social infrastructure. Using Vienna as a case study, the authors mapped purpose-built student accommodation locations and conducted qualitative interviews to analyse recent changes in the provision of student housing and to discuss its implications for the social dimension of purpose-built student accommodation. Accordingly, the respective analysis identifies different logics of student housing providers concerning expansion plans and housing quality, which, in turn, affect the function of student housing as social infrastructure. As a result, this article emphasises the need to critically reflect on the overlooked role of student housing as social infrastructure and the role of public actors as well as their policies in the financialisation of purpose-built student accommodation.

The Challenges of Social Infrastructure for Urban Planning

“…Hence the contribution by Fobel (2022), who finds the provision of social infrastructure in peripheral regions is the result of committed individuals, voluntary work, and non-profit actors and the securing of third-party funds at higher levels of government or from foundations or fees. The changing role of student housing as social infrastructure is addressed by Franz and Gruber (2022), who look at the shift from providing student housing as a basic need to providing it as part of the financialised housing market, and by extension the implications for the provision of social spaces for students. They raise important questions about the governance arrangements which best facilitate the provision of social infrastructure and what the specific responsibilities of public actors should be.…”

Redefining university infrastructure for the 21st century: An interplay between physical assets and digital evolution

“…According to Rubin (1998), universities play a crucial role in community-building initiatives, providing guidance, expertise, and financial support. Student housing, a key part of university infrastructure, contributes to social integration and urban development (Franz and Gruber, 2022). They also significantly impact the development of civil society and social transformation through education, research, and the production of skilled manpower (Sharma, 2015).…”

Setting up a University City. Geographies of Exclusion in North Turin

“…Under the label ‘studentification’ (Smith 2005), scholars have highlighted the impact exerted by increasing students' concentration on cities all over the globe, eventually leading to conflicts (Sage et al . 2012, for a broader perspective but also insights in specific contexts as in Prada 2019, Gu & Smith 2020, Miessner 2021, Franz & Gruber 2022).…”

“…Universities' role in urban changes has gone hand in hand with the growth of student populations, whose presence and practices can have important 'material and symbolic effects on the urban landscape' (Collins 2010, p. 940). Under the label 'studentification' (Smith 2005), scholars have highlighted the impact exerted by increasing students' concentration on cities all over the globe, eventually leading to conflicts (Sage et al 2012, for a broader perspective but also insights in specific contexts as in Prada 2019, Gu & Smith 2020, Miessner 2021, Franz & Gruber 2022.…”