Financialisation and urban densification: London and Manchester’s niche student housing markets

In global cities, densification processes have frequently emerged as a rapid response to housing provision and longer-term urban sustainability. This Spotlight article discusses the wider implications of financialisation through densification processes, and specifically considers developments providing student accommodation, as an under-researched element of the UK’s housing market. We focus on ‘Purpose Built Student Accommodation’ (PBSA), drawing on evidence from London and Manchester. PBSA is framed as an alternative dimension of densification, one which is increasingly providing avenues for financialisation, and we use this piece as a provocation for further research on the topic.

Read the article on the Regional Studies Association website.