The Financialisation of Purpose-built Student Accomodation. Public Assets and Private PBSA: Bologna, Florence and Milan

Abstract

This essay addresses the issue of purpose-built student accommodations (PBSA) in Italy and the role of public real estate in their realisation. The investigation–with the three case studies: Bologna, Florence and Milan–makes use of an interdisciplinary method encompassing disciplines such as law, urban planning, urban studies and sociology.

The regulatory framework on the construction and management of student housing and the innovations introduced by the PNRR envisages the construction of 60,000 housing units (public and private) by 2026; for this purpose, it introduces provisions to simplify and accelerate administrative procedures.

The expansion of new PBSA can be framed as part of a broader financial action of the real estate market. The cases of Bologna and Milan highlight how this phenomenon is transforming the student housing landscape, but also the growing role assumed by financial actors in urban transformation processes and in the regulation (or in the deregulation) of urban development.

On the other hand, in Florence, which is a top destination for international tourism, PBSA takes on a predominantly hybrid form (“student housing” and “hospitality”) that allows profitable revenues for builders and managers. A conspicuous part of the public real estate put up for sale in the last decade is destined for this use, causing uprisings among the resident population.