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Introduction to the Unban Society Project
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RESEARCH PROJECTS
Some issues that international students face include…
overcrowding, temporary/unstable housing, financial vulnerability, extreme rent burden, and limited housing options as a result of no rental history.
The situation that many of this group experience resembles that of most renters in Isla Vista, yet there exist unique challenges that go overlooked and under-resourced when it comes to the housing inaccessibility and unavailability for International students. A privatized housing market with limited social housing options, combined with a lack of support when it comes to finding housing, only compounds the already vulnerable situation when it comes to housing and securing it long-term.
Policies
- UCSB Housing Policy
- The UCSB housing policy grants guaranteed housing for incoming first-year and first-year transfer students only. After that year is up, students must look for housing independently or apply for the UCSB housing lottery, which only takes about 40% of applicants. This creates uncertainty and unease as international students not only have to navigate a new country and education system, but a competitive housing market by themselves, many of them barely 20 years old.
- Lack of credit score and co-signers
- When one moves abroad, their credit score does not move with them, meaning they have to rebuild their credit score once they move. Many international students also move abroad alone, which does not give them many, if any, options for a co-signer when looking to rent a space. The combination of a lack of built credit score and no cosigner can make it very difficult to rent from private landlords, and international students must pay a higher security deposit, often double the rent, to compensate.
- Scarcity and outrageous prices of housing in Isla Vista
- Housing in Isla Vista is not only limited to international students, but also to all students hoping to live close to UCSB. It is a race and competition for all students to apply for off-campus housing, many securing next school year’s housing by the beginning of the calendar year, and rates can be double, triple, or even quadruple the amount of university housing, not including internet or utilities. Housing can be found in downtown Santa Barbara or even up to an hour away in Ventura, but the majority of international students do not have reliable transportation to go back and forth.
What does housing and housing insecurity look like in 2026 for International students?
It can be challenging for international students to find affordable housing, especially with difficulties in demonstrating financial stability or complications with student visas. The same issues that students who are not foreign-born face are only compounded by the extreme rental costs, basic living costs, and academic-related costs. The unique conditions that this group faces only add to the already distressing reality that many face with little relief in sight. Representing a minority of the student body and the general population (~10%), the intensifying issues continue to manifest and jeopardize living in Isla Vista.
Solutions
- Short-Term: Targeted Workshops & Housing Fairs
- Concept: Host specialized workshops and housing fairs tailored to international students.
- Workshops (led by OISS*, Housing, and property managers) would educate students on U.S. rental practices (leases, tenant rights, credit scores). The fairs would exclusively feature landlords willing to accept non-US co-signers.
- Lead Implementers:
- OISS (student trust/outreach) and UCSB Housing Department (local connections)
- Concept: Host specialized workshops and housing fairs tailored to international students.
- Mid-Term: Host Family / Community Host Program
- Concept: Expand the existing rapid rehousing program by matching students with local hosts (alumni, community members) for temporary stays (up to a month) while they find permanent housing. –
- Provides safe shelter, emotional support, and local guidance.
- Lead Implementers:
- OISS, Basic Needs, Alumni Association, and local community groups (ex., churches).
- Concept: Expand the existing rapid rehousing program by matching students with local hosts (alumni, community members) for temporary stays (up to a month) while they find permanent housing. –
- Long-Term: International Student Co-op
- Establish a permanent, affordable, community-oriented housing co-op specifically for international students.
- Reduces housing insecurity, fosters mentorship, and builds a sustainable community based on shared responsibility.
- Establish a permanent, affordable, community-oriented housing co-op specifically for international students.
- Lead Implementers:
- OISS (student outreach) and the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative (SBSHC) (property management and co-op expertise).
*OISS= Office of International Students and Scholars
Student Resources:
Office of International Students & Scholars (OISS)
Advising and various resources such as immigration requirements and adjusting to life at UCSB for international students on visas.
UCSB Basic Needs Program (Housing Insecurity Support)
Emergency resources for students experiencing housing and/or food insecurity.
UCSB Housing & Residential Services
On-campus housing information: residence halls, university owned apartments, on campus housing contracts.
Community Housing Office (Off-Campus Housing Help)
Resources for navigating the housing market within Isla Vista.
Keileh Feldman, Andres Sabri Gonzales, Isabella Mariani, Itzel Lopez Resendiz, and Madeleine Conte
TEXT
Abstract
Our project examines housing insecurity among graduate students at UCSB. Graduate students often rely on fixed stipends from teaching or research positions while housing costs are extremely high. As a result, many graduate students are rent burdened or severely rent burdened, have to deal with overcrowding, or have to live further from campus. This project explores how widespread housing insecurity is among UCSB graduate students. The project also considers structural factors such as limited graduate housing, local zoning regulations, and housing development restrictions that contribute to the shortage of affordable housing in the area. Overall, the project shows the need for greater institutional attention and policy solutions to address graduate student housing insecurity.
Research question: How does housing insecurity affect graduate students at UCSB financially, emotionally, and academically?
Background
Current Housing Situation
The average rent in Isla Vista is about $4,950. (https://www.zillow.com/apartments/santa-barbara-ca/the-marc/5Yy5mC/) Around 50% of rents in Santa Barbara County are rent burdened. (https://www.noozhawk.com/housing-dashboard-reveals-stark-reality-for-renters-in-santa-barbara-county/)
Isla Vista is known to be extremely overcrowded with typically 2-3 people sharing 1 room. While there is Graduate Student Housing, housing is not guaranteed after the first year as UCSB prioritizes incoming graduate students. Graduate Students who have families may be on the waitlist for family housing for up to one and a half years.
Demographic Information
UCSB Graduate students are full-time students typically ranging from early twenties to early thirties. They are enrolled in research based or professional degree programs. They typically have a swamped schedule of balancing school work, their research and teaching responsibilities they take on. Graduate students typically work as Teaching Assistants where their income comes in as stipends or fellowships. As their income is fixed stipends, they’re typically cost burdened with high rent. Many assume or don’t think about the difficulty Graduate Students have with housing. Undergraduate students especially don’t think about Graduate School expenses
Data
1. Graduate Student Association Fall 2023: GSA Housing Survey 10/24/2023
2. RF People’s Guide to UCSB’s Student Housing Crisis
What does the data tell us about scale or severity of the problem?
There is a huge affordability crisis related to housing for graduate students. The graduate students have to compete with undergraduate students as well and local residents if they live further from campus. The stipends these graduate students receive is not enough to keep them afloat from being rent-burdened, the data shows that 88% are rent burdened and nearly 29% are severely rent burdened. Even then, some students are left unhoused. The survey is recent however there has been a whole administration change in both the school chancellor and U.S. president. It is also only 1 quarter, meaning things could get worse or better in the other 2 quarters of the school year.
Policies
CEQA
Complicates housing developments which offset the demand, possibly resulting in lower rent in the surrounding county. However since developments can be stopped, leads to low supply of housing in the area.
California Coastal Act
Restricts coastal development, limiting new housing supply in Santa Barbara which also keeps supply of housing low
Zoning Laws
Single-family zoning and height limits reduce high-density graduate housing options.
Possible Solutions
Some Solutions and Recommendations for Graduate Students would be to increase affordable graduate student housing as we’re not only seeing it through the different data/sources but also from our guest speakers as Nathaniel VerGow mentioned how, “the minimum wage is almost 2.9 times the minimum wage for the city (LA), which is higher than minimum wage for the state (CA) so to be able to afford that, you would need to be earning an average of $48.00 an hour, which is almost three times the minimum wage”. Therefore, we need to prioritize housing designs that consider privacy, accessibility, programs to help students adapt such as improving financial aid programs. Advocating graduate students needs by gathering data and having community housing planning that includes graduate students so landlords and property companies can consider new alternatives for affordable housing and for those students commuting, more parking structures if not some sort of new policies to make it much more accessible to reduce some burden which would require some support from our local government to address these housing challenges for graduate students.
Current State of the Crisis
“A survey conducted in 2013 found that 8% of UCSB students were without a home at some point in their college career. Since then, the housing crisis in Isla Vista has continued unabated. Despite campus efforts to help its unhoused students, many students have resorted to living in vans and cars or commuting long distances to receive their education”
This quote demonstrates how graduate students are forced to focus on securing stable living conditions as some students experience long distance commuting or as we can see in the image of a UCSB student living in their van (image below). This makes it a barrier for graduate students to succeed in their academic journey as it’s not only about financial hardship but experiencing housing insecurity.
It affects graduate students in several ways such as the high rent burden of “88% of graduate student respondents” have to spend more of their 30% income to afford the average rent cost of roughly $1,500 which also causes emotional stress/anxiety as securing stable housing impacts their wellbeing. This leads graduate students to end up living in temporary arrangements affecting their academic success as their focus may be second guessing themselves, wondering if it’s worth the sacrifice of living in these conditions, emotionally stressed due to housing insecurity.
Therefore, prioritizing some sort of development of student housing designed for graduate students to address the need of affordability and accessibility, improving supportive programs such as financial aid to manage the cost of high living conditions, including better parking policies to reduce the burden of students commuting by having more access to parking structures that will support graduate students.
What Are The Living Conditions In Isla Vista?
SCAN ME!
Andrew Rojas, Elizabeth Mumm, Zoe Borter, Melanie Mendoza, Armando Razo
For .
For…..
Abstract
This research project examines the impacts of being unhoused among students in Isla Vista at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Since the relocation of the UCSB campus from downtown Santa Barbara to Isla Vista, rapid population growth and a housing market dominated by private landlords have contributed to widespread housing instability. Many students face overcrowded or unsafe living conditions, while others experience periods of being unhoused. Although existing research often focuses on housing supply, affordability, or statistical measures of homelessness, it rarely examines how students themselves experience being unhoused. By centring students’ lived experiences, this study explores how housing insecurity shapes daily routines, relationships, and academic outcomes for unhoused UCSB students. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative narratives with quantitative data, this project aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of student housing insecurity in Isla Vista.