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This paper analyzes how Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) contributes to the hidden cost of attending these institutions and explores wider effects of commodifying student life for students, local communities, and higher education. Enrollment growth, especially out-of-state and international influx, along with student-housing financialization, frames the crisis as intentionally produced.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/crisis-by-design-student-housing-and-the-hidden-cost-of-higher-education-july-2025/583129/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/crisis-by-design-student-housing-and-the-hidden-cost-of-higher-education-july-2025/583129.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"\tJames","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-24","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":14},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does the paper study about PBSA and student housing?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It examines how Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) increases the hidden cost of attending large public universities and what that shift means for students and surrounding communities.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the paper explain the PBSA boom despite declining college enrollment?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It attributes the pattern to uneven geography of enrollment: large public research universities continued to grow while smaller institutions struggled, especially driving PBSA demand as state funding declined.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Why does outsourcing student housing not translate into affordability for students?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The paper argues that even when outsourcing eases institutional budget pressures, rents can still rise substantially for students, worsening housing insecurity and overall financial burden.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},583129,1792882546,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":14,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":36,"preview_page_count":4},2336474466412,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","UC Berkeley  \nResearch and Occasional Papers Series  \nTitle  \nCrisis by Design: Student Housing and the Hidden Cost of Higher Education by Shanshan Jiang-Brittan, CSHE 1.25 (July 2025)  \nPermalink  \n[https://escholarship.org/uc/item/220157sj](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/220157sj)  \nAuthor  \nJiang-Brittan, Shanshan  \nPublication Date  \n2025-07-14  \nPeer reviewed  \n[eScholarship.org](eScholarship.org) Powered by the California Digital Library  \nUniversity of California  \nResearch & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE 1.2025  \nCrisis by Design  \nStudent Housing and the Hidden Cost of Higher Education  \nJULY 2025  \nShanshan Jiang-Brittan  \nUniversity of California, Berkeley  \nCopyright 2025 Shanshan Jiang-Brittan, all rights reserved.  \nABSTRACT  \nThe student housing crisis surrounding large public universities remains underexamined in education scholarship. This paper fills a gap in literature by analyzing how Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) adds to the hidden cost of attending these institutions and examines the broader implications of commodifying studenthood for students, local communities, and higher education itself. University enrollment growth—particularly the influx of out-of-state and international students—combined with the financialization of student housing, has created a'crisis by design,' transforming student housing from a basic need into a profit-driven asset class. While local housing conditions and municipal policies vary, the general student housing market is shifting away from long-term commitments to affordability and toward short-term, market-driven solutions. To understand the affordability crisis in higher education, housing must be reframed as central—not peripheral—to educational equity.  \nKeywords: student housing, research university, affordability, equity  \nINTRODUCTION  \nRooftop pools, high-tech study lounges, fitness centers, game rooms, and sleek, minimalist interiors—these are not the amenities of luxury condominiums in Manhattan or Shanghai. They are now standard features in student housing developments across American college towns. From Berkeley to Chattanooga, Ann Arbor to Tallahassee, aesthetics inspired by global urban luxury are reshaping what it means to live as a student in the United States. Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) with features and services that go beyond the basic necessities now accounts for one-third of college housing nationwide (Amber 2024) . Between 2014 and 2021, PBSA transaction volume more than tripled, rising from $3.2 billion to over 10.5 billion. In 2022, it exceeded $ 20 billion (Statistica 2025) .  \nThe recent PBSA boom occurred despite a nationwide decline in college enrollment—from 21 million students in 2010 to 19 million in 2020 (Hanson 2024) . The paradox is explained by the uneven geography of enrollment. While small private and regional public institutions struggled to attract students, large public research universities continued to grow. In particular, a key driver of the PBSA boom has been large public R1 universities. As state appropriations declined, especially after the 2008 financial crisis, many public universities increasingly turned to higher enrollment to make up for budget shortfalls. Between 2010 and 2021, 13 flagship public universities had over 20 percent enrollment growth, 14 had between 10-20 percent growth, and 11 experienced growths between 0-10 percent.(Gardner 2023) . Yet many of these institutions have not built enough housing to accommodate the  \nincreasing number of students. As a result, outsourcing student housing to the private sector has become a common strategy.  \nFigure 1. 2023 Student Housing Market Share & Transaction. Source: Amber.  \nFigure 2. PBSA. Hub Madison, WI (left and top right) and Re|New, Tallahassee, Florida (right middle and right bottom)  \nPhoto Credit: Greystar Worldwide LLC & FPA Multifamily LLC  \nWhile outsourcing student housing services may have eased institutional financial pressures, i","cbCaimxZozBMXvXF","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimxZozBMXvXF","pdf",905973,16,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## PBSA boom and market expansion\n## Enrollment decline paradox and R1-driven growth\n## Outsourcing and the affordability gap","[{\"question\":\"What does the paper study about PBSA and student housing?\",\"answer\":\"It examines how Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) increases the hidden cost of attending large public universities and what that shift means for students and surrounding communities.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper explain the PBSA boom despite declining college enrollment?\",\"answer\":\"It attributes the pattern to uneven geography of enrollment: large public research universities continued to grow while smaller institutions struggled, especially driving PBSA demand as state funding declined.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does outsourcing student housing not translate into affordability for students?\",\"answer\":\"The paper argues that even when outsourcing eases institutional budget pressures, rents can still rise substantially for students, worsening housing insecurity and overall financial burden.\"}]","Crisis by Design: Student Housing and the Hidden Cost of Higher Education - July 2025 | PDF",1792045930]