Impact of shadow education in student housing: a case of Dehradun, India

This study examines the transformative impact of student migration and shadow education on urban neighborhoods in India, focusing on Dehradun. Coaching institutes, a key component of shadow education, play a significant supplementary role alongside formal education and drive large-scale student mobility. This influx creates demand for informal and private rental housing. Based on survey data and semi-structured interviews, the study highlights the interdependent relationship between higher education institutions and coaching centers, showing how student clustering reshapes rental housing patterns, local economies, and the socio-cultural fabric of neighborhoods. A Preference for flexible, off-campus living reinforces socio-spatial segregation and contributes to the emergence of youth-oriented infrastructure, often at the expense of long-term residents. The findings reveal that studentification in Dehradun, characterized by informality and limited regulation, differs from well-documented cases in the global North, underscoring the need for context-specific planning and housing policies.