Off-campus housing supply and utilization: perspectives of landlords and students in Chinhoyi

ABSTRACT

Off-campus housing remains a major issue related to studentification in African cities. This study analyses the perspectives of landlords and students on off-campus housing supply and utilization in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. The study was qualitative and adopted a case study research design. Interviews were conducted with purposively selected key informants, while textual and content analysis was used. We argue that studentification is a potential catalyst for housing development in Chinhoyi, yet the municipality fails to formulate relevant housing policies. The study contributes to studies on student housing in African university towns by highlighting the perceptions of the different stakeholders towards off-campus housing.

KEYWORDS:

• Chinhoyi
• housing development
• studentification
• student massification
• university town

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. University City refers to a town/city specialized in providing higher education where its colleges and universities have a disproportionately large weight on its economic, social and cultural landscape.

2. Shacks are illegal shelters constructed for housing purposes usually in informal settlements but also in formal neighbourhoods as backyard rentals. Materials used to construct these shelters include corrugated iron, wood and plastic (Turok & Borel-Saladin, 2016).