Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Contents:
1 Introduction
1.1 Plan and purpose
1.2 Hypothesis and predictions
1.3 Definitions
1.4 Justification and context
1.5 Location
2 Methodology
2.1 Pilot study
2.2 Primary data
2.2.1 Photo analysis
2.2.2 Environmental quality survey
2.2.3 Mood map
2.2.4 Questionnaire
2.2.4.1 Justification for questions used in questionnaire
2.2.5 Land use survey
2.2.6 House quality survey
2.2.7 Index of Decay
2.3 Secondary data
2.3.1 Bristol city council statistical ward profiles
2.3.2 Data shine
2.3.3 Bristol.gov.uk local plan review
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1 Introduction
1.3 Definitions
Key words important to my investigation:
Studentification: the process by which specific neighbourhoods become dominated by student
residential occupation (J.Anderson, 2006, Cardiff Case Studies).
Quality of life: the standard of health, comfort and happiness experienced by an individual or group.
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Guardian) It has now become a recognised phenomenon, whereby specific neighbourhoods
become dominated by student residential occupation (P.Hubbard, 2008, Loughborough case study).
This massive increase was not met by purpose-built student accommodation but private rental
sector for accommodation. One of the key impacts of studentification is on local property markets,
with neighbourhoods becoming dominated “houses of multiple occupation” as local commercial
landlords seek to cash in on the rise of student populations (M.Munro & M.Livingston, 2012,
University of Glasgow).
The process of studentification falls between the processes of Filtering and Gentrification. Filtering is
the process of houses passing form higher to lower –income occupants as the higher- income
occupants move to smart new homes in the suburbs. Gentrification is Filtering in reverse where old
properties in the inner-city areas are upgraded as high –income owners occupy the houses.
Studentification involves converting single-family residences into multi-occupant houses and has an
impact on local retailing in the form of take-away food outlets and off-licences. Students can have a
positive effect as it helps to regenerate poorer areas of cities and students can help boost the local
urban economy. Students can also add to the creative aspect of a city, for example with music and
the visual arts. Although there are positive aspects of studentification there are also negative effects.
Increasing numbers of students pushes up property values as landlords’ cash in or parents acquire
buy-to-rent properties for their children. Student’s lifestyle can clash with the older residents and
they often take less pride in the appearances of their properties and gardens. (M.Witherick and
K.Adams, 2006, Cities and Urbanisation)
Several studies have been undertaken in cities with higher education institutes throughout the UK
and common themes have emerged. National media coverage has also highlighted the problems for
studentification. In the Guardian in December 2018 there was an article written called “Down with
studentification: how cities fought for their right not to party”. It includes residents from Bristol and
Nottingham and the negative impacts that large numbers of students have had on their lives. It also
states that councils including Oxford, Birmingham and Leeds have acted to restrict houses of
multiple occupation and are planning more purpose-built student accommodation. Many studies
have highlighted issues including noise levels, antisocial behaviour, litter and unkempt gardens. A
local councillor in Nottingham stated that a quarter of primary school children in the area were
woken up at least once a night every week of the university term. The article stated that when
houses of multiple occupation comprised 25% of the community, there were significantly less
problems, but once it goes over 25% it can negatively impact the locals (P.Beech, 2018, The
Guardian).
A study of studentification in Lincoln found that the main concerns held by permanent residents
included a reduction in street parking, rubbish, excessive noise and not enough homes for young
families and fragmented social cohesion. The study found that residents were unhappy about houses
remaining empty for half of the year and the constantly changing student neighbours. Some of the
permanent residents have left the area because of these problems. The study found that in the West
End area of Lincoln, there was a clear divide between the permanent residents and students
(M.Mosey, 2017, Studentification).
A study of studentification in Loughborough also highlighted the negative perceptions of students
held by permanent residents. However, it concluded that there is a need to highlight the positive
impact that students make to an area in terms of the economy (P.Hubbard, 2006, Loughborough
case study). Students tend to increase the levels of spending in the local economy and improve the
opportunities for spin off companies, educational, cultural and other arts events, concerts and
performances (J.Anderson, 2006, Cardiff University).
This links to 1.a in the OCR specification “Places are multifaceted, shaped by shifting flows and
connections which change over time”. This study will link to the place profiles of Cotham and
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Redland and how shifting flows of people (students) have helped shape the demographic, socio-
economic and cultural profile of these places over time.
1.5 Location
Bristol’s population is 463,400 (The Population of Bristol 2020) and the student population makes up
55,510 (Higher Education Student Data), this is 8% of Bristol’s population. This investigation looks at
Cotham and Redland and the effects students have had on the areas. On the University of Bristol
website, it states that “Cotham is really near the University and the rents are okay, it is very near
Whiteladies Road and has lots of shops, cafes and bars on your doorstep” (University of Bristol). For
Redland, the Bristol University site says “Redland covers a very large area from up by the downs to
the Gloucester Road. It’s a popular residential area with students. Its expensive and quite loud, but
really near the University and you can live with loads of people in big flats”.
An article from ‘Epigram’ titled ‘The city struggles to accommodate Bristol's soaring number of
University students, how has the student population contributed to the city's housing crisis and
impacted housing affordability?’ says, 'Known to be a vibrant, diverse and friendly city, Bristol is ideal
for young people and families to reside in. However, an unattainable demand for housing has meant,
according to BristolLive, house prices have risen by 56.5% in the last decade- more than twice as fast
as the National average. Bristol City Council believes the student population and rapid University
expansions are partly responsible and have exacerbated this housing crisis. As both the University of
Bristol and the University of West England have expanded, the student population has increased by
10,000 in the last decade, with the University of Bristol being the greater contributor to this. The
central location of the University has led to an increased demand for housing in areas such as
Redland, Clifton and Cotham, driving the resident population out of Bristol’s centre. Redland and
Cotham were chosen for the study as they have good access to University of Bristol and University
West of England and after reading the article in ‘Epigram’ it is interesting to see the impact students
have on these areas and whether student accommodation can be managed sustainably. Refer to
Map 3 which shows the location of Redland and Cotham.
Map 1: Map showing Bristol’s location within the United Kingdom (Google Maps)
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N
Map 2: Map showing Redland and Cotham’s location
within Bristol and the surrounding areas (Google
maps)
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Methodology:
Quantitative data is data expressing a certain quantity, amount or range. There are typically
measurement units associated with the data eg. Metres (UNECE, 2000). This is objective data.
Qualitative data is information that cannot be counted, measured or easily expressed using numbers
as it is collected from text audio and images and shared through data visualisation tools e.g., word
clouds, concept maps, graph databases and info graphics (Rouse 2019). This data is subjective.
/technology Camera
Sampling strategy, Opportunistic sampling will be used to take photos of HMO’s and
size and location, evidence of studentification. Opportunistic sampling enables evidence
frequency and of problems of HMO’s and studentification to be studied.
timing Opportunistic photographs will also be taken on the four shopping
streets to gather information on services provided for residents and
students. These photographs will gather an overall picture of Redland
and Cotham. The photographs will be taken on the data collection days
in November 2020.
Description of the 10 pictures will be taken in Cotham, 5 on Gloucester Road and Cotham
method Hill where the services and shops are and then 5 in the residential
streets. These include Nugent Hill, Arley Hill, Sydenham Road and
Cotham Brow. Another 10 photos will be taken in Redland. 5 on
Whiteladies Road and Chandos Road and another 5 taken on Redland
Park Road, Elgin Park and Kensington Road. The photos will link in with
the environmental quality surveys and shopping quality surveys.
Rationale Photographs give visual evidence and will either prove studentification
has a negative or positive impact. By analysing the photographs, it will
show what a typical student households characteristic are in
comparison to other local residents. The photographs will allow
comparison between student and local resident provision of services.
Potential ethical A potential ethical issue was taking photographs of houses without the
issues resident’s permission.
Potential limitations Time frame available will limit the number of ph Equipment otographs
taken and will not cover every student house in the areas. The
photographs could be biased as stereotyping student’s HMOs may not
give an overall picture.
Links Links to hypothesis 1 and 2 and have been annotated with links to
quality of the environment and services.
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Equipment/technology Premade survey, pen
Sampling strategy, size Random sampling will be used to reduce bias. Numbers will be
and location, frequency assigned to all the residential roads in Redland and Cotham and
and timing 10 streets will be randomly selected in each area. This will give
me enough data to get an average for each area to compare the
impacts of studentification.
Description of method Each residential road in Cotham and Redland were assigned a
number and then 10 locations were randomly selected using a
random numbers generator. Each road was graded from +3 to -3
on the EQS bipolar analysis.( see figures 1 & 2)
Rationale EQS is a useful method to investigate the physical environment.
From the data gained from the surveys it was possible to see if
the students have had a negative or positive impact on the areas.
It was possible to compare and identify trends for Cotham and
Redland.
Potential ethical issues Disturbing residents whilst collecting the data and offending
people with subjective opinions.
Potential limitations The data gained is subjective and based on opinion and this could
affect the validity of the results. The data collected may not be
representative of the entire community. The survey could have
been completed when there was more or less noise and
therefore it would not be fully representative of the area all of
the time.
Links The data collected links to Hypothesis 1 and have been presented
as geolocated graphs so that different locations can be compared
easily.
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presented as geolocated graphs.
2.2.4 Questionnaire
Equipment/technology Questionnaire made on google forms
Sampling strategy, size Stratified sampling was used and the google form was sent out to
and location, frequency residents of Cotham and Redland so that relevant opinions of
and timing local residents could be obtained. A sample size of 40 was
needed to get a true representation.
Description of method A google form was created asking multiple choice questions
linking to my hypotheses. The form was sent out via ‘snapchat’
Residents of Cotham and Redland filled this out and the results
were collected. (see figure 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 )
Rationale This was undertaken to get people’s opinions on students living
in their area and whether they believed they had a positive or
negative effect on the area. This looks at quality of life as
questions were asked like “Have you ever been woken up in the
night by students” etc.
Potential ethical issues Asking offensive questions or the questions could be on an
emotive subject for them which could be upsetting.
Potential limitations The data gained is subjective and based on opinion and this could
affect the validity of the results. The data collected may not be
representative of the entire community as the survey was sent
out to one age group so this could affect the results.
Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 the data for the questionnaire
could not be collected from residents on the street and so the
form was sent out via social media.
Links Hypothesis 1 & 2 as it links to quality of the environment and
services provided. The data collected was presented as graphs.
Key trends and anomalies have been analysed.
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Question 7: Do you feel the cafes and restaurants in your area cater more for students than
local residents?
This will gather subjective data on whether residents feel studentification has had an impact
on cafes and restaurants and links to hypothesis 2.
Question 8: Are the bars/clubs in your area catered to students more than local residents?
This will gather subjective data on whether residents feel studentification has had an impact
on bars and clubs and links to hypothesis 2.
Question 9: Do you think students have a positive or negative impact on your quality of life?
This question will give an overall subjective view form the residents on how they feel
studentification has affected their lives.
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and accommodation type which can also indicate a high number
of students.
Potential ethical issues An ethical issue could be that if the site where the data was taken
from isn’t referenced, it could be falsely taking credit for the
author’s original research.
Potential limitations The quality of life survey conducted by Bristol city council is
subjective and therefore the data could be biased. The data does
not actually ask the residents about the impact of students on
their quality of life so assumptions could be made to who has
created the litter and noise.
Links This links to hypothesis 1 as it looks at quality of life
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2.3.4 News articles and resident on-line groups.
Equipment/technology Google search.
Sampling strategy, size Stratified sampling to find relevant news articles and on-line resident
and location, frequency groups to look at the impact students have on resident’s lives.
and timing
Description of method Using ‘Bristol Live’, ‘The Guardian’, ‘Totem’ and ‘The noise pages’ find
out resident’s views on students living in Bristol and in particular
Cotham and Redland.
Rationale Collecting secondary data from news articles and resident’s groups
helps give a whole picture on how resident’s view students and how
that impacts on their quality of life.
Potential ethical issues Individuals cannot be recognised even if they have been quoted in a
newspaper article or quoted in an on-line group.
Potential limitations Not all news paper artcles are linked to the exact study areas of
Cotham and Redland. Secondary data could be biased as it is mainly
looking at negative impacts of students.
Links Links to the key question as the comments made are related to
quality of life and impacts of students.
Potential risk Severity (e.g., Likelihood (1- Risk /25 How can this Severity Likelihood Risk
1-small cut 5- unlikely 5- SxL risk be reduced, likelihood
death) very likely) (control) with
measures control
Catching 3 3 9 Wear face 3 1 3
COVID-19 covering
Keep 2 metre
distance from
people
Don’t obstruct
narrow
pathway
Wash hands
Offending 2 3 6 Don’t be 2 1 2
someone culturally
inappropriate
Don’t ask
personal/offens
ive questions
Keep
names/address
es anonymous
Damaging the 3 3 9 Don’t walk over 3 1 3
environment plants/grass
Don’t litter
Be wary of
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surroundings
(spatially
aware)
Road 5 3 15 Do not attempt 5 1 5
crossing, to collect data
collisions whilst crossing
with bikes or the road.
cars Use safe road
crossing
procedures.
Falls, slips, 3 4 12 Wear 3 1 3
trips appropriate
footwear.
Watch out for
uneven
surfaces, steep
steps and other
hazards.
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3.1.1 Photo analysis
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Two charity shops selling cheaper products
aimed at students. Anthony James student
letting service providing a service for
students renting in Cotham.
Miss Millie take away and Charity shop providing a service for
students. Fair trade ethical clothing shop selling to both
permanent residents and students (closed due to lockdown).
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Photo 13: Redland
Unkempt student driveway shows students are
not here all times of the year and do not take
pride in the appearance of the property.
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Photo 16: Cotham
Key:
X = EQS above 0
X = EQS below 0
Fig. 3- A radar graph comparing Cotham’s and Redland’s total EQS scores for each category.
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The radar graph very clearly sums up the different categories recorded using the EQS in Redland and
Cotham. From the graph in fig. 3 Redland scores higher than Cotham in all the categories including
condition of building, maintenance, outside space, vandalism, noise and litter. This shows that the
built environment is more pleasant and looked after more in Redland than Cotham. Also the
antisocial behaviour of noise and litter has less impact on Redland. As Witherick and Adams said,
‘students can clash with older residents and take less pride in the appearances of their properties
and gardens’. From the subjective data collected using the EQS this certainly seems to suggest that
studentification has had a more negative impact on built environment. Linking this to sub-question 1
students have had more of a negative effect on the quality of the environment in Cotham than
Redland. There is a clear correlation between the areas with high proportion of students and aspects
of negative quality of life. This reflects the findings of previous studies and articles detailed in my
literature review including those by (P.Beech, 2018, The Guardian), (M.Mosey, 2017,
Studentification), (P.Hubbard, 2008, Loughborough case study)
3.1.3 Questionnaire
Fig.4 : A pie chart to show the results from the questionnaire -% of permanent residents in Cotham
and Redland living near student housing.
Redland Cotham
82% of the residents from Cotham that replied to the questionnaire live near student housing,
whereas it was 68% from Redland, a difference of 14%. This result shows that either there are more
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student houses in Cotham or the result could be by chance and that more people that answered the
questionnaire just happened to live near students. Overall these results show that there is a high
proportion of students living in Cotham and Redland and therefore the results form the
questionnaire will reflect on how the residents perceive students are affecting their quality of life
and the impact students have on the services in the area.
Fig. 5: A pie chart to show the results from the questionnaire to compare the % of permanent
residents woken up by student’s noise.
Redland Cotham
88% of permanent residents in Cotham had been woken up by student’s noise as opposed to 55% in
Redland, a significant difference of 33%. This higher disturbance in Cotham would suggest that there
are more students living in Cotham (also suggested by the data in fig.4) and they are affecting the
quality of life more negatively in Cotham than Redland. These reflect the problems raised by Beech
as referred to in the Literature review whereby a quarter of children were woken at least once a
week in University term time. (P.Beech, 2018, The Guardian)
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Fig. 6 : A divided bar chart showing the % of residents in Cotham and how they feel students affect
the quality of life and provision of services.
100
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Fig. 7 : A divided bar chart showing the % of residents in Redland and how they feel students affect
the quality of life and provision of services.
100
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Fig. 8 : A bar chart to show whether permanent residents of Cotham and Redland perceive
students to have a positive or negative impact on their quality of life.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
In Redland 27% perceived students to have a negative impact on their quality of life and 31% in
Cotham. Comparing these results with the impact students have on the environment with litter and
noise in both wards from figure 6 and 7 these results correspond. However, 27% of Redland
residents also perceive students to have a positive impact on their quality of life. This may be due to
increased spending and improving the economy and provision of services.
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3.1.4 Shopping quality survey
Fig. 9- Located bar charts showing the shopping quality survey of Whiteladies Road, Redland.
Key:
A = shopping crowds
B = exterior of appearances of shops
C = street cleanliness
D = type of shop
E = land use groups
F = quality of goods
(D.Holmes & S.Warn, 2003, Fieldwork Investigation)
(Google Maps)
Fig.10 Located bar charts showing the shopping quality survey for Chandos Road, Redland
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(D.Holmes & S.Warn, 2003, Fieldwork Investigation)
(Google Maps)
N
The mean score for
Cotham Hill is
13.32.
Fig. 12 Located bar charts showing the shopping quality survey of Cheltenham Road, Cotham.
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Fig.13 Land use map of Cotham Hill , Cotham categorising each shop/service into aimed for
students, residents or both.
Key:
Aimed at students
Aimed at residents
Aimed at both
After categorising the land use into a service for students , residents or both, on Cotham Hill 34% of
the services were aimed more for students, 27% for residents and 39% for both. Therefore,
studentification has had an impact on the services. There were 3 empty properties on this road and
if students were not spending money in this area there may well be more empty properties and so
students have had a positive impact on the local economy. This can also be seen in the photos 7-9
where the services are aimed more at students.
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Fig. 14 Land use map of Whiteladies Road, Redland categorising each shop/service into aimed for
students, residents or both.
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Fig 15 Land use map of Chandos Road, Redland categorising each shop/service into aimed for
students, residents or both.
On Chandos road most of the services are aimed at residents 60%, only 12% for students and 28%
for both. Studentification has had least affect on the services provided on Chandos Road. This can
also been seen in photos 4-6 as the services and shops are mainly aimed at permanent residents.
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Fig 16 Land use map of Cheltenham Road , Cotham categorising each shop/service into aimed for
students, residents or both.
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3.2 Chi-Squared
Fig. 17 :Chi-squared.
Observed data.
Students Residents Both Row total
Redland 11 33 18 62
Cotham 23 18 31 72
Column total 34 51 49 134 (grand
total)
Expected data.
Degrees of freedom.
(number of columns of observed data – 1) x (number of rows of observed data – 1)
(3-1) x (2-1)
2 x 1 = 2
With 2 degrees of freedom on the critical value table the total of 11.45 is higher than 9.210 and so
can be 99% confident in rejecting the NULL HYPOTHESIS.
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Therefore in conclusion there is a significant association between the services aimed at residents,
students or both in Cotham and Redland. There are more services aimed at students in Cotham than
in Redland
3.3 Secondary data:
3.3.1 Bristol City Council Statistical ward profiles
Fig. 18: Census data for Cotham to compare age groups.
Comparing the secondary data from the Office of National Statistics 2018 it shows there is a
significantly high amount of people aged between 16-24 in Cotham at 34.1% and only 17.5% in
Redland , which is still higher than the Bristol average of 15.8%. This data suggests that there a lot of
young people (potentially students) living in Cotham which could mean that studentification will
have a big impact on the quality of life and provision of services in Cotham.
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Fig. 20 Census data for Cotham to compare housing tenure.
Using the secondary data from the 2011 census data to compare housing tenure in Cotham and
Redland it is possible to see that Cotham has a significantly higher amount of private and other
rented housing at 52%. In Redland private rented is 31.4% and the average for Redland is 24.9%. This
result suggests that the higher result of rented accommodation in Cotham could have an impact on
the quality of the built environment.
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3.3.2 Datashine
Fig. 22 : A choropleth map from Datashine showing ‘all full-time students’ in Cotham and
Redland.
The secondary data shown in fig 22 shows the percentage of students living in each street. In
Redland the number varied from 0% - 9.2% and in Cotham the number varied from 2.6% to 32.4%.
From this data it is possible to see that there are more streets in Cotham with a higher percentage of
students 23.2% more if comparing the streets with the highest % from both wards. This could
potentially have a bigger impact on the permanent residents. As Beech said, ‘Once HMO’s goes over
25% it can negatively impact locals’.
Using this census data to work out the percentage households of students per street could then be
compared with the primary data collected for the EQS by drawing a scatter graph see fig 23. To see if
there was a correlation between EQS and % of student households per street a spearmans rank
correlation statistical test was carried out refer to fig. 24. From both fig 23 and 24 you can see there
is no correlation. According to the impact of studentification there should have been a correlation,
however, the census data was from 2011 and the % of student households per street could have
changed and also the EQS is subjective and this may give inaccurate results. The streets were also
chosen randomly and this could also have affected the results.
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3.3.3 Correlation between EQS and % of student households per street
Figure 23: A scatter graph to show the correlation between EQS and % of student households per
street.
25
20
15
10
0
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
Null hypothesis: There is no correlation between the % of student households and the EQS score.
Hypothesis: The higher the % of student households in a street the lower the EQS score.
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3.3.4 Spearmans rank
Figure 24: Spearman’s Rank Correlation coefficient between EQS and % of full time student
households.
Total = 1,568
R= 1 - 6Σd2
N(n2-n)
R= 1 – 6x1568
20(400-20)
R = 1 - 9408
7600
R = 1- 1.238
R = – 0.238
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n=20 and rs= -0.238 therefore there is NO CORRELATION between EQS and % full time student
households in the roads studied. The null hypothesis has to be accepted. The hypothesis stated that
there should be a correlation , the higher the % of student households the lower the score of the
EQS as studentification has been shown to negatively affect the environment. The fact there is no
correlation could be experimental error due to random sampling, the fact that the census data was
taken in 2011 and therefore out of date and also the EQS data is subjective. For future studies all
the roads could have been studied as this would improve the accuracy of the results.
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Figure 25 shows Quotes from Bristol City Council Local Plan Review Consultation March 2019 for
planning policy for the next 20 years. The quotes are showing the negative impacts studentification
has on Bristol as a whole and most importantly for student accommodation to be kept under 10%
Fig 25 : Quotes from Bristol City Council Local Plan Review Consultation March 2019 for planning
policy for the next 20 years.
(Bristol City Council, 2019, Consultation Responses)
General support for
Concern over development of new purpose
Given the housing crisis concentration of student built student accommodation to
in deprived areas of the properties and levels of reduce pressure on existing
city all land for housing HMOs within Clifton
should be made
homes and to reduce impacts
Down area. on existing residential areas.
available for permanent
residents and not
student accommodation.
(Maps.bristol.gov.uk)
High concentrations of
HMO are perceived to have a negative impact on the
students already damages
local community. The supporting text offered no
the local community and
explanation of how students development will be
there is a concentration of
managed within the city. 10% maximum threshold
fast food and drink
and support for 100m when considering HMOs.
businesses in the area.
39
Fig. 26 – A word cloud showing the perception of residents in Redland based on newspaper
articles and the ‘noise pages’.
(Thenoisepages.com) (S.Grubb, 2020, BristolLive) (R.Adams & W.Charley, 2019, The Guardian)
Figure 26 shows the negative impacts students have on the quality of life in Redland in particular
mainly relating to noise. The issues of noise and rubbish were also raised as problems by the
permanent residents in Mosey’s study in Lincoln. (M.Mosey, 2017, Studentification : the impact on
residents of an English city )
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4 Evaluation
The effects of studentification is an emotive subject for people and therefore makes an interesting
subject to study but this can have an impact on the accuracy and reliability of the results. The
research questions looked at two aspects of the impacts of studentification including quality of life
and services provided. Due to time restrictions only the most relevant aspects to studentification
could be studied and it would have been interesting to have included other aspects of quality of life ,
for example, social belonging and crime and safety. To make the study less biased it would have
been good to include information on the students’ experience of living in Cotham and Redland and
whether their quality of life was also being affected. Although BCC website was used to look at
future plans for student accommodation it would have been good to include another research
question to address how external agencies are addressing the increase in student numbers. The
study has highlighted issues with studentification but no solutions.
The study areas of Cotham and Redland were chosen as both wards had been mentioned as having
student issues in newspaper articles and they are close to Bristol University. Students live in other
areas of the city, including Clifton, Hotwells, Stoke Bishop, Filton, Horfield etc and if there had been
more time available it would have been good to analyse the impact students have on these areas
too.
As studentification is not easily measured nine different data sets were measured so that a wide
variety of information was collected to form conclusions. The data was collected in October and
November 2020. Most collection methods were dependent on the time of year, as this was during
student term time, collecting data in the summer holidays would have given different results.
Unfortunately some of the data was collected during lockdown 2 and because of this the streets
were quieter and less people were out shopping. This will have affected the validity of the Shopping
quality survey and the environmental quality survey. As there were less students around there will
be less litter so to increase the validity of the results EQS and SQS should be taken at different times
to obtain an average for further accuracy and given a more representative conclusion. Also to get a
more accurate result for EQS all the roads in Cotham and Redland should have been surveyed. This
would have given a more accurate result for the Spearman’s Rank when comparing the EQS with the
% number of student households per street.
The photographs were taken using opportunistic sampling and so when evidence of studentification
occurred and so this will give a biased negative result. Due to Covid lockdown less photos were taken
than were originally proposed in the method as it was important to keep distance between people.
Also there was less evidence of student life (litter etc) as the pubs, clubs and sometimes during time
period of data collection the shops were shut too. This will have definitely affected the results and
made the impacts of studentification less visible so it could be said that the photos are not accurate
and cannot give us a true picture. Also the photos may not have actually been of student HMOs they
could have been of groups of people eg young professionals. It is possible that students are targeted
when there are in fact no student residents. This investigation relates to studentification and refers
to the impact of HMOs and if they do not house entirely students then the validity could be
hindered. To get a more accurate picture of Cotham and Redland it would have been better to do
random sampling.
The pilot questionnaire was too open and so this was altered to include more specific answer
choices to provide answers that could be analysed. If there had been more time available and not
lockdown more permanent residents could have answered the questionnaire and this would have
given a deeper understanding of the perspective of the local people. The questionnaire could have
41
also been sent to residential groups on Facebook which would have given the survey a more
accurate sample of the population. Sending out the questionnaire on Google Forms via Snapchat
meant that the majority of people that answered my questionnaire would have been 18 years old
which would have given biased results and not necessarily very valid results. Also only 38
questionnaires were completed and therefore to get averages and percentages makes the results
less valid. To get better valid results at least 50 questionnaires should have been completed so that
clear trends could have been analysed and it would have been easier to spot anomalies.
Questionnaires should also have been completed by students to see their perspective on quality of
life and services provided in the area as the results are biased as they are only from permanent
residents.
Systematic sampling was used for the SQS and this could have meant that certain aspects were
missed. Also a stretch of 150m was used for the land use survey and this would have given more
accurate results if the whole street had been analysed. Whiteladies Road and Cheltenham road are
on the edge of Redland and Cotham wards and so will be affected by the residents and students
living in Clifton and St Pauls wards too and so this could make the results less valid.
To gather accurate data around the level of noise in the areas a sound level meter would have been
required. The noise would have had to have been recorded at different parts of the day and night
and at different locations. This would have provided data to support the high number of
respondents from the questionnaire and the BCC review. (fig 25 and fig. 26)
There were limitations to the secondary data collected as the only census data available was 2011
and student levels have increased since 2011. It would have also been useful to have old census data
to compare the changes in numbers of students in each ward and compare that to the change in
quality of life and change in services.
Using the BCC planning review for the next 20 years gave some interesting views on student
accommodation but they were all negative. To gain a more balanced view students should have
been interviewed.
Initially RICEPOTS was used for the land use survey but that gave meaningless results as almost all
the area surveys was retail. Categories relating to who the service was used by mainly students or
permanent residents to be able to compare the 4 shopping streets. However, these categories were
subjective and could be biased.
Due to Covid it meant interviews could not be obtained with a local Bristol councillor or the student
engagement manager at the University of Bristol. This limited the information that could be
accessed as the data then had to be secondary and the accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
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5 Conclusion
How has the quality of the environment been affected by students in Cotham and Redland?
Based on the data collected it was clear that the residents felt their quality of life was negatively
affected by the high number of students and the high proportion of HMOs. Comparing the EQS it is
clear the scores were lower in areas with higher numbers of students (refer to figs 1 and 2).
The high number of students has led to a change to the environment which in turn has negatively
affected the quality of life for the permanent residents particularly in Cotham (refer to photos 16-
18). The findings of the study were similar to the findings of previous studies of studentification in
the UK referred to in the literature Review (Beech 2018). Although the Spearman’s rank result came
out as there being no correlation between EQS and the % number of student households these
results are not necessarily valid as explained in the evaluation.
What affect have students had on services provided in Cotham and Redland?
The data collected and analysed on services shows that studentification has had an impact on the
services provided, particularly on Cheltenham Road. Cheltenham Road had the highest score (15)
from the shopping quality survey which implies that the shops and services are of lower quality
(photos 10-12). Students can increase levels of spending in the local economy (J.Anderson, 2006,
Cardiff University) and this positive aspect may have been reflected in the Redland residents in the
questionnaire when 27% said students had a positive impact on the local area.
Overall, How has studentification affected the quality of life of permanent residents in Cotham and
Redland?
The results from the primary and secondary data shows that the permanent residents have very
mixed feelings about students living in Cotham and Redland. The primary and secondary data
contain subjective perspectives and so this should be taken into account when drawing conclusions.
The process of studentification has definitely affected the environment as well as the lives of the
permanent residents by influencing the services provided. Cotham has more students living in the
ward and has been more negatively affected by studentification in relation to quality of life and
services provided (refer to figs 18-22). These findings correlate with the studies of studentification
carried out by Mosey in Lincoln and Beech.
Looking into the future it will be interesting to see how Bristol City Council will accommodate the
growing number of Bristol University students and limit the amount of HMOs to 10%. Bristol
University are expanding and building a new campus in Temple Quarter for business, digital and
social innovation studies which will open in 2023. The old Bristol Royal Infirmary will be converted
into 62 rented residential homes for students which will be ready for the start of the 2021/22
academic year. The new purpose built student accommodation in Stoke Bishop completed a few
years ago accommodates 2000 students but there are still issues of noise and antisocial behaviour.
43
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