It was with eager grins that we set out on 18th and 19th March, excited to see whatever met our eyes in Selly Oak (part of the inner city). Clipboards? Check. Suitable clothing? Check. Pen to make notes of observations with? Check. Like true geographers, we were ready to make new discoveries and put in perspective what we had been learning about ‘studentification’!
The trip began with a bang – we made the short journey to Selly Oak on foot, our bubbly excitement evident. Next, we discussed what we might find on Oakfield Road (our first destination) such as litter and degradation of houses. To our surprise, the houses on this street were mostly detached, large and well-kept, rather than what we had predicted of student accommodation. The residents had noticeably taken care of their houses and a few friendly faces even greeted us as we observed various qualities of the housing (e.g. damage done to the properties).
After walking a couple of streets further, we arrived at Dawlish Road. Dawlish Road was the direct opposite of everything we had noted on Oakfield Road. The walk to the former itself was accompanied by frequent sightings of ‘to let’ and ‘for sale’ signs. The change was significant – Dawlish Road obviously provided cheaper student accommodation than Oakfield Road which was used by more permanent residents. It was here that we saw what ‘studentification’ meant – litter surrounded the terraced houses; doors stayed open regardless of whether the occupiers were inside or out; and ‘to let’ signs could be spotted on at least every other house. As you can imagine, the notes we made fully contradicted those we had made of Oakfield Road.
To conclude, this trip was definitely worthwhile! By visiting two different streets, we could compare and differentiate the qualities of the housing of the two. I am sure everybody can agree that this trip was most enlightening, and gave us the chance to see with our own eyes the definition of ‘studentification’.
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