Studentifikasie in Stellenbosch

[摘要] ENGLSI ABSTRACT: Students are very diverse and mobile population group who are present across the globe. Highereducation institutions do not provide sufficient accommodation for students and therefore theyneed to depend on the private sector for alternative accommodation. The influx of students intoneighbourhoods has been coined as studentification and this has various positive and negativeimpacts on neighbourhood structure. Stellenbosch is classified as a university town with a studentpopulation of 15 000 and the University of Stellenbosch only provides accommodation for half ofits students. The students that can not be accommodated by the university have to turn to theprivate sector for accommodation. Die Weides and Simonswyk are neighbourhoods adjacent tocampus and have fallen pray to studentification because of a high influx of students which led toan increase in population and physical density. The studentification in Die Weides andSimonswyk has various social, cultural, economical and physical consequences which createschallenges for the spatial planning of these neighbourhoods.A qualitative and quantitative approach has been used for this study. The literature study focusseson the following aspects: studentification and its dimensions; neighbourhood quality; two typesof student housing; and the role that public policy has to fulfill in student housing regulation.Furthermore, the student accommodation policy of Stellenbosch Municipality and thedensification policy is discussed to get an understanding of the current situation in Die Weidesand Simonswyk and what future developments may occur. Property sales in Die Weides andSimonswyk over the past 16 years were analyzed to determine the level of property change thathas occurred. Surveys amongst students and permanent residents within Die Weides andSimonswyk have been conducted to determine the degree of studentification that has occurredwithin the neigbourhoods.The accommodation policy for students which has been approved by the Stellenbosch Council, isa commendable initiative to try and regulate studentification. The policy only focusses on futurestudent accommodation and the regulation thereof, however the policy is unclear on how currentexisting student accommodation should be dealt with. The valuation of property transactions inthe two neighbourhoods shows that it is the utility and demand which is the main factors forproperty values and changes that occur. It has been found that student housing affects theneighbourhood in a negative manner and that it also decreases the neighbourhood quality.Negative social, physical and cultural consequences are experienced within theseneighbourhoods, resulting in issues such as noise, traffic, high density and the loss ofneigbourhood characteristics. Within Die Weides and Simonswyk there is a lack of socialcohesion between the permanent residents and the students and neither of the two parties areattempting to get to know each other.Studentification offers several challenges for the development and implementation of publicpolicy and spatial planning at regional and international level. Urgent attention needs to be givento more sustainable integration of student accommodation in Stellenbosch. Communication andwillingness to co-operate between all relevant parties, will determine whether studentification canbe regulated in a successful manner in Stellenbosch. The growth of the student population isinevitable and the presence of student accommodation in the town's neighborhoods will continueto increase. Public policy and the role that it should play in regulating studentification should bereviewed in Stellenbosch.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University