Touristification and studentification. New dialectics of urban segregation in historical university cities

Abstract

Historical university cities are suffering from strong tourism pressure which affects part of their resident and student populations. The proliferation of properties dedicated to tourism diminishes the availability of traditional rental options, leading to escalated prices. The objectives of the article are to analyse whether historical university cities have different features with respect to the impacts of tourism and if students have the same perception as social and political actors of the impact of touristification on the property market. Studentification and touristification have been analyzed in numerous studies but never together. It is based on the case of Santiago de Compostela, an emblematic university city of Spain and Cultural World Heritage Site. The problem has been examined by a student survey and debates with experts using a Citizen Science approach. Santiago de Compostela constitutes an example that ratifies the theoretical concepts and shows different perceptions. Students are concerned about the quality and price of housing, without identifying tourism as a cause of the problem, while the social agents appreciate to a greater extent the negative impacts of touristification on the housing market, and there is consensus among them with respect to the need to apply policies for their mitigation.