打印

作者

Luisa Sotomayor;Derya Tarhan;Marcelo Vieta;Shelagh McCartney;Aida Mas

来源

CITIES,Vol.124,Issue1,Article 103572

语言

英文

关键字

Student housing;Students' lived experiences;Urban universities;Housing affordability crisis;Hidden curriculum;Studentification;Geographies of higher education;Toronto

作者单位

Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change, York University, Toronto, Canada;Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada;Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada;Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change, York University, Toronto, Canada;Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada;Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada

摘要

Despite the implied centrality of students to studentification research, much of the current debate on universities and urban change often ignores the voices of students. Common presumptions about students attending universities take for granted middle-class trajectories that do not account for their variegated identities and experiences. This paper examines university students' housing experiences in Toronto, a city that has experienced a rapid financialization and commoditization of housing markets. Using focus group data, we examine the housing landscape of students from their perspective, including their housing preferences, strategies to access affordable accommodations, and the effects of housing and economic stress on their wellbeing. Our findings indicate that the lack of adequate, affordable, and accessible housing for students has forced them to tacitly learn to be “resourceful” and “creative” in the task of securing housing. We argue that variations in student housing experiences act as a “hidden curriculum” that normalizes socio-economic burdens. This hidden curriculum, embedded in inadequate housing experiences, has forced students to hustle to survive, further marginalizing students and reproducing social hierarchies and class, gender, racialized, or ageist divides. We conclude with recommendations, some suggested by students themselves, to improve the student housing situation in cities with expensive housing markets.