The urban dormitory: planning, studentification, and the construction of an off-campus student housing market

TLDR

Regulating the negative impacts of private off‑campus student housing, especially where concentrated by studentification, is a pressing planning issue in knowledge‑economy cities with expanding universities, and planners have proactively anticipated changes beyond studentified areas. We argue for greater attention to the broader “urban dormitory” in which students live across the city. We piece together a history of planning for student housing in Waterloo, Ontario from 1986 to 2016 through an analysis of planning documents. Lessons from Waterloo show that adaptive planning is needed to manage the urban dormitory, as high‑density housing alleviates supply constraints but does not prevent neighbourhood disruptions, and planning can structure the public realm, provide amenities, and regulate unit size and design.

Abstract

Regulating the negative impacts of private off-campus student housing on neighbourhoods, especially where it is concentrated by processes of 'studentification,' is a pressing planning issue in the knowledge economy city where universities are expanding. We piece together a history of planning for student housing in Waterloo, Ontario from 1986 to 2016 through an analysis of planning documents. Over this time, planning has proactively anticipated changes and attempted to direct development accordingly in ways that extend beyond 'studentified' areas. We therefore argue for greater attention to the broader 'urban dormitory' in which students live across the city. Lessons from Waterloo illustrate that planning in cities with significant off-campus housing must be adaptive to effectively manage the urban dormitory, as investment in high-density housing has alleviated supply constraints but did not prevent neighbourhood disruptions. A valuable role for planning is in structuring the public realm, providing amenities, and regulating unit size and design of new development.