Beyond Campus Walls: Studentification in Ankara s İşçi Blokları Neighborhood – Housing, Affordability, and Community Dynamics

This article examines the dynamics of studentification in İşçi Blokları, Ankara—a 1970s cooperative-housing district adjacent to Middle East Technical University (METU). Originally constructed in 1973 as a workers’ cooperative housing estate, İşçi Blokları today functions as a major student-housing cluster, with many dwellings rented to students. Using a mixed-methods design (survey and in-depth interviews, 2022–2023), the study analyses how student demand reshapes housing affordability, dwelling quality, and neighborhood cohesion. Studentification emerges as a multifaceted urban issue. Residents depict students as a “guaranteed market,” linking their presence to higher property values but also to reduced maintenance and social frictions; yet many support a more balanced citywide distribution and acknowledge students’ economic and cultural contributions. Empirically, we find rent inflation and physical decline in older cooperative stock alongside growth in cafés, study-friendly venues, and youth-oriented services that enhance cultural vibrancy. In response, the paper proposes a new housing model that brings together the municipality, housing cooperatives, and universities. The model sets affordable rent limits (30–35% of household income), creates a revolving renovation fund to repair old buildings, and includes university agreements to guarantee stable student occupancy. Together, these measures aim to keep rents stable, improve living standards, and prevent resident displacement. Overall, studentification in İşçi Blokları is a transformative socio-spatial process requiring inclusive housing policy, multi-scalar governance, and the revitalization of cooperative institutions to balance affordability, diversity, and urban sustainability.