Student area a 'ghetto': report

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Mon, 17 May 2010
University of Otago | News: Dunedin

A report on the future of the University of Otago's Dunedin campus considers the student housing around the university to have lent a "ghetto" feel to the neighbourhoods, says Vice-chancellor Prof Sir David Skegg.

Writing on today's ODT opinion page, Prof Skegg introduces the Campus Master Plan, to be unveiled this afternoon with the release of the 195-page "Options for Future Campus Development" report, compiled by international consultants.

"... the authors were shocked by the degradation of the residential areas surrounding the university," writes Prof Skegg.

"The squalid nature of many properties and the accumulation of rubbish are considered to have generated a 'ghetto' feel ..."

The report envisages what the student quarter might look like in 20 to 25 years' time.

Among other issues thrown up by the report, says Prof Skegg, are:

• Reconsidering the one-way traffic system in North Dunedin.

• A possible transformation of the Water of the Leith to "a natural feature with multiple recreational and ecological uses".

• The removal and replacement of several university buildings.

"They [the consultants] have encouraged us not to `make do' with run-of-the-mill facilities, but rather create a world-class campus which would enhance the experience of students and staff as well as the city of Dunedin."

The plan, put together by international consulting firm DEGW, is the first such major exercise conducted by the university since 1980.

Prof Skegg says he is "excited by their vision" but points out the report does not yet represent university policy.

He hopes it will be discussed within the university and by other interested bodies and the general public.

Details of the plan will be reported on at greater length in tomorrow's Otago Daily Times.

 

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Student area a ghetto? Finally

Submitted by A. ocellatus on Wed, 19/05/2010 - 7:36am.

A little late, but an appropriate designation. When I attended Uni four years ago, I was disgusted and appalled by the students' lack of respect and integrity. My concerns were minimised by faculty and staff, and even other international students who claimed that this was the norm at college campuses in the US.
Well I can say that's rubbish.
After returning home I rode the train from San Francisco through the East Bay and accompanying crack neighbourhoods, and they resembled the Uni housing blocks: discarded couches, burnt out cars, smashed windows, overall degradation. Later, I visited the University of California Davis, where I used to live and attend classes. The campus and accompanying neighborhoods were preserved with dignity the way I remembered them back in the day; students were walking around sober and attending functions or eating in the various dining halls and cafes.
I remember the days of going to punk shows at the Silo and the Coffee House and drinking in the nearby establishments, but we had enough intelligence and sense to know not to act excessively we wanted to keep the privileges that we enjoyed.
I have four words for Dunedin: Raise the drinking age.

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Role of landlords in campus neglect

Submitted by Peter on Mon, 17/05/2010 - 4:07pm.

It’s very pleasing to see the report authors have highlighted the role private landlords have played in the deterioration of the immediate campus environment.  Far too many landlords ruthlessly exploit the revenue opportunity of centrally located flats without being prepared to do the minimum of maintenance. The result is, as DEGW and Prof Skegg note, a 'ghetto’ – a run-down urban environment in which an atmosphere of architectural neglect has encouraged a wider spiral of anti-social behaviour.

I have walked through the campus area on the way to work for the past five years; it is a very dispiriting experience. Landlords benefit financially from their 'investments' in student housing and they need to recognise that they have a duty to the community which enables those profits to be made.

If landlords were held accountable for the condition of their properties – with the possibility of financial penalties looming over them for non-compliance – the area would be cleaned up in short order and the campus environs would be an absolutely outstanding example of late 19th/early 20th century residential architecture.

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