Socio-territorial effects of studentification in Temuco, Chile, and dynamics due to COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Studentification is a socio-territorial process whose consequences can dynamize the structure, social relations and development of some sectors of the cities, although it can also generate adverse effects. In the case of Temuco, an intermediate city in southern Chile, the arrival of students has produced a greater offer of university services, materializing changes both in urban development, as well as in social capital and existing community networks. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, these dynamics have been modified, generating effects on the distribution of students and their social relationships, but their scope is unknown. This research, based on a mixed methodology that includes surveys, spatial analysis through the use of primary and secondary data, and in-depth interviews, questions the socio-territorial effects of studentification in Temuco and its dynamics, as a consequence of COVID-19.