Enacting separate social worlds: 'International' and 'local' students in public space in central Melbourne

►'International' and 'local' university students in central Melbourne are creating separate and distinct spaces and forms of socialising. ► Our research suggests this is influenced by three key, spatially-linked processes: institutional, locational and self-enacting. ► Complex reiterations of particular uses of public space produce racialising behaviours that consolidate exclusionary friendship groups. ► This paper makes some recommendations for opening up the social possibilities for students in Melbourne.