What have Leeds, Nottingham, and Liverpool got in common? One thing,
according to the media, is a tension between local residents and student letttings in
certain suburbs around the universities there. In Leeds, there is a sort of
'higher education quarter' in the north-west of the centre of town, which means
the area of highest accesibility to this quarter by public transport, that is
Headingley, has seen many former family homes sold by their families to
landlords, who have filled each house with anything from 4 to 7 student bedsits.
Local Leeds topography doesn't help; a steep sided valley to the north east of
headingley, and the River Aire and a wide industrial belt to the south west
means cross-suburban 'commuting' for students is unattractive. Student lets exist
further out beyond Headingley, but long bus journeys are not attractive for
students, who want to be close to their friends anyway late in the evening, when
buses are unsafe and infrequent. Again, a 'women's bus' does operate, but
cannot satisfy all the demand if student bedsits were more dispersed.
Headingley residents see a major change in their area (although it was some
of them who must have sold to landlords initially - landlords don't have
compulsory purchase powers do they?). The usual problems of an area with a transient
population with no stake in the area, after graduation (if Leeds students
stay on in the city after graduation, they will likely have a job to go to and
move to more salubrious areas beyond the student belt). Noise, litter, abandoned
cars, derelict looking houses and gardens, increased crime against student
houses, also affecting non student properties. Also a change in shopping
provision, from family-oriented grocers, butchers, etc to takeaways, fast food
stores, landlord supplies shops, and lettign agencies taking over what were more
veried financial uses such as banks, insurance agents, etc. Schools decline as
students generally don't have dependent children, charity shops proliferate, but
stock little of use to families, or even to the older pensioners still living
in Headingley.
As said, there are efforts to provide student accom further out, and a
tramway will make it easier to get to the university from across Leeds - but as
student numbers may rise, or maybe not with higher fees, and the tramway won't be
operational for years, then no immediate solution is in sight, not without
major government input in new student villages which isn't going to happen
tomorrow.
Oddly, smaller cities such as Oxford and Cambridge, more dominated in
relative numbers by students than Leeds, Nottingham, Liverpool are, havent reported
such problems. Nor has the small university city of Lancaster, although student
numbers there have grown from around 5,000 in 1990 to over 10,000 now, and
the population of Lancaster is only 50,000, plus another 50,000 in nearby
Morecambe. Leedsd has around 500,000 people (city) or 700,000 (metro-area), but not
5 to 7 times the Lancaster student numbers, even with the 2 universities and a
medical school. Morecanbe is dominated by students, and long term unemployed
by the sea, but maybe needs the custom of lettings in almost-redundant former
guest houses. Maybe it's just that the poorer population of Morecambe hasn't
the will or means to protest as much as the more middle-class families in
Headingley. Also Lancaster University is outside the town by some 3 miles, and
therefore has not only more student accom on campus but more on campus shops etc
than Leeds University does, alleviating some of the 'studentification' of shops
Headingley has seen. Lincoln has a major new University, De Montfort, and
isn't a big city itself, so is Lincoln in store for another 'Headingley''?
Have other crit-geog members, perhaps those in other countries, also seen the
'Headingley' problem? We dont hear much in the UK about, say, USA
studentification, although there was an interesting story about California students
subverting an environmental directive that meant only cars with 2 or more cooupants
could use certain traffic lanes. The enterprising California students then
got free lifts, or even charged motorists for the privelige of carrying them, in
the rush hour so as to get into that multi-occuopancy lane.
Has anyone else from other universities come across this 'student/community'
tension, and how does Oxbridge avoid it, or doesnt it? Any solutions in other
countries, please?
Hillary Shaw, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
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