STUDENTIFICATION AND NEOLIBERAL PRACTICES IN UNIVERSITY LEASING: SOME EVIDENCE FROM THE CASE OF CONCEPCION (CHILE)

Abstract

Since the late 1980s, there has been a clear global surge in neoliberal urban
practices. Th e case study, situated in Chile (specifi cally, the city of Concepción), is particularly
striking due to the political, economic, and legal structural reforms that position
it as the fi rst country to implement neoliberal reforms. Drawing on research about
the infl uence of university students on cities, this manuscript raises questions about the existing gap concerning neoliberal experiences within student housing. Employing
a qualitative methodology, supported by the findings of a broader survey and literature
review, an analysis of landlords’ neoliberal practices is developed along three axes:
entrepreneurship, the development of market strategies, and individual responsibility.
The results allow for the interpretation of this process within the framework of an increasingly
neoliberalized society, in which market dynamics progressively extend into
previously private spheres.