Studentification is an interesting neologism I found while researching the effects of gentrification on towns outside big cities. Studentification is the act of mass-migration of students to a city or town currently occupied by primarily working class residents. One of the examples of this I found that was very immediate was Leeds.
In 1991, students occupied 20% of the Headingley area. In 2001, this rose to 61%. This could be an issue for non-students as streets are filled more and more with takeaways, student real-estate, student bars & clubs and more. As a student myself, I haven't reflected on how the migration of hundreds of thousands of students to a city could cause problems instead of simply boost the economy.
Leeds has almost turned into a holiday destination with the student-migration process. A busy city during deadline days, but a dormant one during student holidays. This means businesses can suffer and property prices can be inflated due to the massive amount of competition from the many letting agencies opening up every year (40, up from 8 in 1990) as there is much more commission to be gained from selling houses year on year with students guaranteed to stay in a house for one to two years on average.
That's not to say that studentification in Leeds has been negative. The economy of Leeds is ever-rising commanding such a wealth of students with large spending power. Independent bars, clubs, shops and cultural centres have continued expanding and a large number of Leeds graduates choose to stay in the city, continuing to pump more money into the local economy.
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