Certain streets in Cork City now consist almost exclusively of houses rented
by students. Most of the houses would be late 19th/early 20th century and
would have been sold by their former residents. There are about half a dozen
landlords who own up to 20 houses each, controlling a large segment of the
market.
The student population does tend to draw the ire of local residents, with the
usual issues cropping up - late night parties, litter, untidy gardens etc.
Interestingly, local residents in the estate where I live recently objected to
a planning application to build specialist apartments for students in the
area. A fellow postgrad in the department here is carrying out research in
this area using the concept of 'gated communities' to examine how the upper
and middle classes attempt to keep undesirables such as students out of their
area.
Another feature of the part of the city around the University is that many of
the pubs are re-orienting themselves towards the student market, thus
depriving the residents of their 'local'.
>===== Original Message From [log in to unmask] =====
>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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