The following studies and papers are good places to start if you're new to Town and Gown issues.
If you have suggestions for material to be posted, please e-mail Scott Courtice at scourti@uwo.ca
OMB February 2010 Decision re: City of Kingston/Patry
Many Ontario municipalities have begun exploring licensing rental housing. The above resources provide background information from those municipalities. More resources will be added in the coming months.
A recent discussion paper released by the City of London regarding a plan to address challenges and opportunities facing near campus communities, along with a response paper from the University Students' Council at Western. This is part of on ongoing discussion, and more information will be posted as it becomes available.
A recent research study carried out at the University of Brighton finds that students in Brighton and Hove have little inclination to live in student 'enclaves'. Instead they are dispersed throughout the city, living as part of their local communities.The study was undertaken by Dr Darren P.Smith and Dr Louise Holt of the School of the Environment's Geography Division. It was commissioned by the University’s accommodation services to provide information on which to draft a long-term accommodation strategy.
Historically, universities and their surrounding communities have failed to work cooperatively to address common problems. Fortunately, this state of affairs has begun to change, due at least in part to a shift from the old government paradigm to the new governance paradigm. The governance paradigm encourages the creation of innovative partnerships between the government sector, the private sector and the non-profit sector in order to harness the collective energies and strengths of all partners. This article begins by providing some definition clarification as to what is meat by innovative university-community partnerships.
The growing numbers of students gaining access to higher education in recent years has had the effect of increasing concentrations of students in many towns and cities across the UK. The changes this has brought have been interpreted and experienced differently by local communities. Some local communities have witnessed largely negative and detrimental impacts in areas where relatively high concentrations ofstudents have settled. In other contexts, some local communities, particularly within declining areas, have welcomed rising numbers of students. As this phenomenon of ‘studentification’ is relatively recent, there is no blueprint for a tried and tested approach effectively to manage high concentrations of students within houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in local neighbourhoods. However, many higher education institutions (HEIs) and students’ unions, local authorities and communities have developed and are using innovative practice that could be useful to others. This guide should therefore be viewed as a starting point for HEIs and stakeholders planning to initiate or extend discussions and joined-up working, and to establish good practice that is sensitive to the local context.
For those who seek to measure the health of higher education in this new century, the proverbial glass may be half full or half empty. Half full as evidenced in the trend to increasing enrollment, expanding fields of study at home and abroad, and new opportunities for commercial partnerships and technology transfer. Or it may be half empty, with decreasing public support, mission drift and growing competition from for-profit and international institutions. There is a third viewpoint, however, that suggests the glass may just need to be shaken up a bit—and community-university engagement may be the best way to do so.
In the fall of 2001, an estimated 645,000 full-time students were enrolled in Canadian universities while an additional 410,000 full-time students were enrolled in postsecondary programs in Canadian colleges. Over the last 20 years, students outside the 18- to 24-year-old cohort have accounted for an increasing proportion of university and college enrolments and today, students over the age of 24 account for approximately 25 per cent of university enrolments.While Canada has a high percentage of postsecondary education enrolment, information on how students are housed and on the student housing market is limited. This is despite their meaningful impact on the market, due not only to their sheer numbers but also due to the fact that there has been an important increase in the number of older students who are more likely to seek lodging away from the parent family.
Despite an extensive review of the literature and a search of the major databases available, very little statistical information specific to student populations and their housing was uncovered. The available information is limited, scattered and uncoordinated. No inventory, even of post-secondary-owned student housing seemed to be available and no organization dealing in post-secondary student affairs seemed to have focused on the state of student housing.
Adequate housing is important to the well-being of all residents, especially students attempting to gain an education. Obtaining housing can be difficult in university towns where demand for housing is high and the supply is low. As a planning student I wondered what the key planning issues were in providing off-campus student housing in university towns. In the past, many municipal planners believed that affordable housing was the responsibility of the provincial and federal governments (Parent, 1990). Increasingly, we have begun to see municipalities become more active in facilitating the provision of affordable housing through innovative forms of zoning and land use regulation. One goal of this thesis is to determine students' perceptions of housing in Sackville.
Researchers from the University of York have completed a study of the impact on local housing markets of student demand for private rented housing. In looking at the housing demand from full-time students, the research was able to examine the implications for other groups seeking to live in private rented accommodation. The research assessed the ways in which landlords have been responding to student demand, examined the incidence of competition with other types of tenant, and considered the issue of property conditions for students.
This thesis was undertaken to document the current housing situation of students in K-W and students’ preferences for housing in the community, with specific analysis around the feasibility of student housing in the core areas. Research suggested that the presence of an educational institution in the core could contribute to revitalization efforts, and many successful examples of town and gown partnerships are available.
The purpose of this Discussion Paper is to provide a summary of the research findings of the Student Accommodation Study and to present a range of options for achieving the goals of the Study. Each option is described and a preliminary evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of each option is discussed. The purpose is to initiate community discussion on the options with the aim of developing the best option at the conclusion of the Study in June 2004.