This study aims at highlighting some contradictions in cities of high value with regard to the progressive reassignment of practical and symbolic functions and the related real estate potential. The field of application is the condition of off-campus students in university cities of high historical-artistic and landscape value. The aim is to show in what sense the increasing value density of these locations has led to forms of exclusion for residents and students. Starting from a preliminary analysis of the real estate market in Syracuse province, a market survey was carried out in the rental property segment, and a profile of the related issue of student dissatisfaction was outlined, based on a questionnaire administered to local university students. The students’ situation was analysed with regards of origin, conditions of residence and family income, highlighting the need to expand the supply of university residences, co-housing and co-working spaces. According to the civil economy prospect, the opportunities of neighbourhood economies identify associationism and events offering a ranges of social living opportunities redefining a local identity by strengthening the cosmopolitan dimension implicit in the opportunities of a spatial and relational context with strong aesthetic connotations.