Benjamin Robert Black, "Student Housing in University towns: A Case Study of Sackville, New Brunswick"

Adequate housing is important to the well-being of all residents, especially students attempting to gain an education. Obtaining housing can be difficult in university towns where demand for housing is high and the supply is low. As a planning student I wondered what the key planning issues were in providing off-campus student housing in university towns. In the past, many municipal planners believed that affordable housing was the responsibility of the provincial and federal governments (Parent, 1990). Increasingly, we have begun to see municipalities become more active in facilitating the provision of affordable housing through innovative forms of zoning and land use regulation. One goal of this thesis is to determine students' perceptions of housing in Sackville.

Based on the scarcity of information available, I decided to use a case-study approach in an attempt to assess what the unique housing issues are in Sackville, New Brunswick. I chose to complete a qualitative study so that I could gain the perceptions and opinions of students, planners, and other groups surveyed. A case-study approach also made it possible to record observations and concepts about student housing in Sackville.

I used various approaches to collect the information necessary to determine whether or not locating adequate and affordable off-campus student housing is a problem in university towns. I first reviewed the literature to examine the quantity of sources available regarding universities and their impacts on small towns. Further steps in the process included a review of legislation at all three levels of government and a survey to students and key informants.

This research revealed that nearly half the students surveyed felt their accommodations were in need of repair and that the majority of students indicated some level of concern with the overall housing conditions. The research also revealed a lack of action on the part of the university to improve off-campus housing conditions. A number of possible municipal planning actions have been suggested to help improve student housing in university towns.

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This document was last modified on June 27, 2002.