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Positive neighborhood segregation
BY JARED DYDAHL
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
ISSUE 78/28
This year has seen a number of proposed zoning laws that have attempted to restrict where college students can call home in Duluth. The latest assault comes as the result of a proposed zoning law that will limit the number of college students living in predominately residential neighborhoods, according to an article published by Amanda Daniels in last week’s Statesman titled, “Student Housing.”
Another recent Statesman article, “Student Housing on Councilors’ Minds,” written by Mike McGrath, states that many Duluthians are taking issue with inadequate parking, too many parties and the symbols of living the college life (beer cans galore) that are making communities which were once vibrant, look trashy. The same article relates to us that, in order to resolve this issue, the city council is looking at developing a “young professional housing district” that would contain a majority of Duluth’s college population and “cater to the needs of students with rental properties and recreational activities in one concentrated area.”
This issue brings up questions such as, “Is it right to disconnect students from their campus by quarantining them in a single area away from school?” The answer to this question is “absolutely, yes.” The popularity of places like Campus Park and Boulder Ridge is evident by the amount of students who live there, so why not create this on a larger scale?
The proposal would actually improve upon these facilities. It would create a living environment where students can live in close proximity, have mass transit services (a key issue when gas prices are soaring), have necessary amenities close at hand and Duluth residents can have their neighborhoods back. Most importantly, this will give students autonomy over the culture of a neighborhood that is uniquely theirs.
In addition, the proposal may actually serve to make renting cheaper. According to the McGrath article, the idea of creating a student neighborhood would help students by, “relieving pressure in neighborhoods and cause landlords to lower rent, because students will be attracted to the high-density areas and away from single family homes.”
So, in addition to all of the aforementioned perks students would also have more affordable housing in areas that are not so far removed from the fine amenities that Duluth has to offer. In the end, this is probably the best scenario to meet the living needs of Duluth’s residents and college students.
