Abstract As a new phenomenon of urban and social change, studentification was found in the university towns in UK firstly. With the expansion of higher education system, the colleges and universities can't afford to accommodate the higher education students. As a result, most of the higher education students migrate into established residential neighborhoods, replace the former residents and trigger a process of distinct social, economic, cultural, and physical transformations. Based on the concept of gentrification, the term studenfication was coined to describe the urban social-spatial change driven by the concentration of the student residents from a life course perspective of gentrifiers, with a emphasis on the role of students within the constraints of third-wave of gentrification. The students are those who at the early stage of gentrification with lack of the economic and social capital and hence are seen as marginalized gentrifiers. Since the off-campus concentration of higher education students has been a common phenomenon in most university towns around the world, studentification in China deserves academic attention. And it is of great signification to review the literature on the studentification to better understand relevant concepts and theoretical frameworks. Based on the creation and changes of the concept of studentification, this paper reviews the development and characteristics of studentification of western countries. It reveals the new research trends on the mechanism of studentification, socio-spatial effects, studentification and residential segregation, studentification and gentrification, and studentification and urban politics. Finally, it concludes that the research on studentification has just began both in case studies and theories. Studies on studenfication in urban China should coin the concepts, develop the theoretical framework based on its own context.
2017, Vol. 32 
