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This paper calls for a more encompassing perspective of the regional migration patterns of young adults (16–24), extending studies of labour-motivated graduate migration. It is argued the long-distance movement(s) of young adults per se is a leading constituent of demographic and population changes in society; emphasising the connections between youthful stages of the lifecourse and high levels of population mobility that include students, graduates and other subgroups. Using revised National Health Service Central Record data to interrogate regional migration flows in England and Wales (2002–2008), our descriptive analyses reveal three key findings. First, it is shown that young adults are increasing as a proportion of regional migrants; reaffirming academic representations of young adults as a highly mobile age group. Second, it is identified that migration flows decreased for age groups between 2002 and 2008, with the notable exception of 16–24-year-olds. This suggests that young adults do not adhere to the increasing trend of non-migration, as individuals and households increasingly ‘stay-put’ due to detrimental socio-economic conditions (Cooke, T. J. 2011. “It is not Just the Economy: Declining Migration and the Rise of Secular Rootedness.”Population, Space and Place17: 193–203). Third, major regional differences between the migration flows of 16–24-year-olds are observed, which beg questions about the escalator regions. The findings of the paper are pertinent to ongoing debates of population change, particularly given the reconfiguration of national policies (e.g. funding of higher education and housing benefit) is leading to new expressions of young adult migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including youth migration, return migration, and the connections between youth migration and education.

ABSTRACT Pre-existing literatures on post-student migration have mainly focused on inter-regional flows of young educated migrants, the attendant redistribution of human capital around the UK, and the impact on local and regional economies. This paper argues that the parochial focus on labour-motivated graduate migration (usually to first employment), and the absence of data enabling individual migration histories to be traced longitudinally across the post-student phase of the lifecourse, has masked the complexity of the patterns and processes of migration in this social group. Drawing upon recently collected primary data from a retrospective survey of the migration histories of a cohort of students who left the University of Southampton (UK) between 2001 and 2007, this paper reveals that post-student migration trajectories are complex and precarious across the 5-year period after leaving university. During this prolonged period of instability, the parental home (and parental support more generally) provides a crucial safety net. This begs questions about the impacts of post-student transitions to financial and residential independence on the resources and intergenerational care exchange frameworks of contemporary mid-life parents (terms such as 'sandwich generation' and 'pivot generation' refer to the multiple family roles and responsibilities of mid-life parents who are caught between meeting the needs of their adult children and their ageing parents). It is suggested that the well-being agenda in migration studies is helpful for refocusing the lens of enquiry on the impacts of return migration to the parental home on graduate migrants, their families, and the potential trade-offs that might occur between generations. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent discussions of studentification have emphasised the development of exclusive purpose-built student accommodation in city centres, shifting the focus away from Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in established residential neighbourhoods. In this paper we explore the growth of student housing on a former social-rented (council) housing estate, and the social friction that it has created—arguing that the production of student HMO has remained prolific, and is pushing the studentification frontier into outer-city deprived communities. Drawing on empirical evidence from a former social-rented housing estate, we explore the recent emergence of a ‘student area’ where student occupation is having marked impacts on a relatively deprived local population. These findings have implications for urban policy making, given they highlight the negative outcomes of studentification in deprived communities, and reveal the challenge this poses for providing affordable housing, and engendering sustainable communities in university towns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Research on the linkages between student migration and residential change in university towns and cities has mainly focused on neighbourhoods with deeply engrained and relatively mature expressions of studentification. Limited attention has been given to neighbourhoods that are in the process of being studentified or experiencing the preliminary, trend-setting flows of student in-migration. As a result, there is limited understanding of the pace of local demographic change and population restructuring in studentifying neighbourhoods. To these ends, this paper analyses the term-time addresses of students in Brighton, UK, between 2006/2007 and 2008/2009. A volatile residential distribution of student populations is revealed. We explore the factors underpinning these shifting student geographies by focusing on a specific neighbourhood undergoing profound population transformation during the period of study. This allows us to reveal how studentification unfolds 'in situ', shedding light on the rapidity of population and demographic restructuring that is mediated by the conversion of family-dwelling houses to student Housing in Multiple Occupation. Our findings are pertinent to recent planning policies to engineer balanced populations and housing markets by regulating the (over)production of student Housing in Multiple Occupation in university towns and cities. More broadly, the paper serves to demonstrate the value of adopting a longitudinal approach to gathering primary qualitative and quantitative data to track local changes to migration flows, demographic and population structures, and neighbourhood transformations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]