Analysing Student Housing Preferences and Urban Impact in Dehradun, India

In India, 40% of the population is under 25. Therefore, the demand for higher education is growing. This results in the migration of the young population, creating a high demand for housing. Higher Education Institutes (HEI) often cannot cater to this demand. Rental housing options in neighbourhoods around the HEI cater to a large portion of this demand. Such an influx of students in neighbourhoods often creates chaos and leads to gentrification. It affects the neighbourhood’s liveability, resulting in the growth of poor and low-quality housing conditions. Students’ preferences are very significant to assess to provide planning interventions in systematic allocation and creation of standard housing in a typical city. The paper analyses students’ preferences for a rental housing unit in a neighbourhood in Dehradun, one of India’s educational hubs. It focuses on ten locational and twenty-seven housing attributes identified. Importance-performance analysis (IPA) was conducted using primary data collected from 425 respondents. The research findings show that the neighbourhood’s safety, environment, and location are essential, while affordable locality is crucial and needs focus. Regarding housing, cost, amenities, and privacy are crucial for choice-making by the students, while focus needs to be given to security. Finally, we focus on housing options that can be considered, i.e. Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA). The study shall help the developers and HEIs develop the housing options and preferences for students migrating to cities for education and jobs. Moreover, the findings will also enrich the literature related to housing satisfaction in a contextual manner.