This document analyzes the best places for students to live in Montreal based on key factors like cost of rent, proximity to services and universities, and other amenities. Through surveys and spatial analysis using GIS tools, the authors determined that the most affordable and accessible areas for students are the Plateau-Mont-Royal, Ville-Marie, Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension and the South-West boroughs of Montreal, as they are generally within close proximity to universities and

1. Student Housing in
Montreal
By Sarra Azouz & Maurice Rabkin
GEOG 363-GA

2. Introduction and Question
 Montreal is ranked best
student city in Canada and 8th
in the world
 Increasing difficulty for
students to find decent living
conditions at a reasonable
price in central Montreal
districts
 High turnover rate of student
renters in Montreal
Where is the best
place to live as a
student in Montreal?

3. Background Research
 According to the survey, the most important factors in the housing
selection process for a student are the cost of rent (86.4%),
proximity to services (88.3%) and proximity to their university
(77.7%)
 Central location has a positive effect on housing satisfaction, even
stronger for students who pay low rent.
 Students are mainly located in: Plateau-Mont-Royal, Ville-Marie,
Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Rosemont-La Petite-
Patrie, Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Villeray-Saint-Michel-
Parc-Extension and the South-West, which are within relative
proximity to University institutions.
Source: UTILE 2014, Zins Beauchesne et associés 2014,
Thomsen and Eikemo 2010.

4. Data Acquisition
 Surfing the CHASS Data Center to find recent and
appropriate data from the National Household Survey
(e.g. Average monthly shelter costs)
 Data manipulation for rigorous GIS use
 Enhanced Points of Interest shapefile (DMTI)
 STM OpenData Portal

5. Multi-Criteria Evaluation
 Arbitrary Constraints:
 University campus – 3000m
 Bus stops – 250m
 Metro stations – 600m
 Bike paths – 1000m
 Supermarkets – 700m
 Restaurants and bars – 800m
 Libraries – 900m
 Cultural centers and Recreation – 1000m
 Relative affordability – >550$ per room and >750$ per
unit (based on average)

6. Spatial Analysis
 Spatial data analyzed for optimal site selection:
 Socio-demographic analyses (average monthly rent)
 Mapping points of interests
 Data classification
 Querying
 Geoprocessing tools:
 Overlay module with Boolean operations
 Buffer, dissolve, intersect, merge for all students’ preferences
 Spatial Joins and Selection by Attribute
 Field Calculator to compute ratios
 Project to eliminate design problems

11. Conclusion
 By analyzing student housing preferences, optimal
sites for rentals were determined.
 Further research would be required to examine
potential housing options accounting for safety and
dwelling conditions or recommend suitable sites for co-
op student housing developments
 Limitations: no data for vacancy rates at the borough,
district or census tract level

12. References
 Thomsen, Judith and Eikemo, Terje A. 2010. “Aspects of student housing
satisfaction: a quantitative study” Journal of Housing and Built Environment
25(2010): 273-293.
 UTILE (2014). Student Housing Co-ops: Preliminary Feasibility Study. Retrieved
August 25, 2015, from https://csu.qc.ca/sites/default/files/Coop feasibility - CSU
Report.pdf
 Zins Beauchesnes et associés (2014). Market study on affordable student housing.
Retrieved August 25, 2015, from https://csu.qc.ca/sites/default/files/PHARE survey
summary - English.pdf