3 ms·

The ideal housing is an overpriced community of highly aspirational young people that effectively violates federal housings laws by pretending elderly people an

The ideal housing is an overpriced community of highly aspirational young people that effectively violates federal housings laws by pretending elderly people and families with young children don't exist? I dont see how it scales outside of a college community.

ModernMech 3y ago
Well I don't know about other places, but for us we have a daycare on campus that's affordable and available for anyone in the community. We have family housing that is multigenerational (many international students bring their parents with them and they live together). We have plenty of older community members of course - many of our teaching faculty are retirees, and emeritus professors are some of the oldest people on the planet! Scaling is a problem though, that's for sure, although many colleges are in fact towns outright (like Penn State). However, there's a big incentive for colleges to turn into hedge funds/real-estate holding firms which works against the educational mission of universities IMO. As for overpriced... I mean, you get what you pay for. I don't think it's overpriced because I've tried the alternative, and I've found it lacking. Although I see several avenues to cut costs while keeping service levels. But if you think college campuses are just for the students, you're missing half the picture!
janalsncm 3y ago
In the California suburb I live in (read: you need to drive everywhere) my rent is more than twice as much as what I paid on my walkable college campus.
- dingosity 3y ago
  The college I went to FINALLY tore down the slums south of campus (I guess maybe that was the city that condemned them) and built more, affordable student housing. It only took them 100 years. I guess my point is, even college administrators from Texas can eventually learn that affordable housing for students and staff can be a benefit.

ModernMech 3y ago

Well I don't know about other places, but for us we have a daycare on campus that's affordable and available for anyone in the community. We have family housing that is multigenerational (many international students bring their parents with them and they live together). We have plenty of older community members of course - many of our teaching faculty are retirees, and emeritus professors are some of the oldest people on the planet! Scaling is a problem though, that's for sure, although many colleges are in fact towns outright (like Penn State). However, there's a big incentive for colleges to turn into hedge funds/real-estate holding firms which works against the educational mission of universities IMO. As for overpriced... I mean, you get what you pay for. I don't think it's overpriced because I've tried the alternative, and I've found it lacking. Although I see several avenues to cut costs while keeping service levels. But if you think college campuses are just for the students, you're missing half the picture!

janalsncm 3y ago

In the California suburb I live in (read: you need to drive everywhere) my rent is more than twice as much as what I paid on my walkable college campus.

dingosity 3y ago
The college I went to FINALLY tore down the slums south of campus (I guess maybe that was the city that condemned them) and built more, affordable student housing. It only took them 100 years. I guess my point is, even college administrators from Texas can eventually learn that affordable housing for students and staff can be a benefit.