Development of new student residences has trended toward privacy at the cost of social spaces: Editorial

The design of student residences has changed over the last thirty years, write Shelagh McCartney (Toronto Metropolitan University) and Ximena Rosenvasser (TMU), and not to the benefit of students’ wellbeing. McCartney and Rosenvasser studied university residences controlled by or affiliated with Toronto-based universities and how the typical design changed over the years from shared dorms to more “privacy-oriented” residences. McCartney and Rosenvasser argue that this shift to privacy comes at the cost of the common spaces that have historically facilitated student socialization opportunities. Since these socialization opportunities are connected to improvements in students’ GPAs and well-being, the authors call for a reconsideration of how residences are developed.