The Student City: An Ongoing Story of Neoliberalism, Gentrification, and Commodification

Introduction: the student city grows up Two new residential student high-rise towers have just been added to the skyline of Leeds, one of the biggest student cities in the UK. One of themöthe »80 million Sky Plaza built by the Bristol-based Unite Group plcöclaims that it is the tallest student accommodation in the world. With 37 storeys, 557 bedrooms, and towering 103 m over the streets of Leeds city centre, it is the city's very own Burj Dubai for students. En-suite accommodation is »118 per week, with features including wifi, on-site DVD rentals, flatscreen TVs, and luxury furnishings and minibars in the upper floor penthouses. The otheröBroadcasting Toweröis a »50 million, 23-storey, 240-bedroom tower built by the Liverpool-based Downing Group which boasts free Sky TV, wifi, contemporary interiors, and stylish dëcor. Both these student towers have been prelet before completion. These are stunning developments in the ongoing story of the student city in the UK. They represent new heights in the reformulation, upgrading, and commodification of the student experience. No longer do students choose from grotty `digs' let by slum landlords. I am reminded by a friend that student accommodation is referred to as digs as it reflected the fact that students used to literally dig down and spend a few years at university tolerating substandard accommodation in a subterranean world, looking forward to a brighter future. With the introduction of contemporary luxury student living this is no longer the case. Higher education students (at least those who can afford to) can choose from a range of high-quality vertical living accommodation in large dedicated purpose-built tower blocks. They are the newest arrivals in the unfolding story of the gentrification of central urban areas. I first looked at student life in detail in the mid to late 1990s during my PhD thesis in which I explored how high concentrations of in-migrant middle-class students were creating what I called èxclusive geographies' (see Chatterton, 1999). Since the time of my initial work into student life new trends have emerged, while older ones have been reinforced. The most obvious change is that numerical growth has continued and there are now record numbers of students in higher education. In 1998, 329 000 students started a degree in the UK, and by 2008 the figure had grown to 457 000 (Curtis, 2009a). Overall, there are 300 000 more university students in the system than in 1997 when New Labour arrived to govern the UK and I was finishing my PhD. Demand still continues to increase year on year, especially in the current recessionary environment, but a particular crisis moment has arisen within UK higher education. Unprecedented demand for places in 2009 could not be met, with a 10% surge in applications meaning that there were 50 000 fewer places than applicants (Curtis, 2009b). In light of recession-related spending cuts, the government target of 50% of 18-30 year-olds in higher education by 2010 is not likely to be met. In 2007/08 the figure reached its highest point of 43%. Student debt has also mushroomed. Average debt in 2004/05 was »7900 compared with »3530 in 1999/2000 (Finch et al, 2005). With the likely eradication of the »3000 cap on tuition fees after the next parliamentary elections in the UK, elite universities have suggested fees would rise to »10000 per year (Shepherd, 2009, page 5). Many more students are staying at home due to the rising costs of student living, but student Commentary Environment and Planning A 2010, volume 42, pages 509 ^ 514