ISTANBUL — With universities resuming in-person education next month, a growing number of students in Turkey are camping out in urban parks to protest what they say is a lack of affordable housing near their schools.

Demonstrators claim recent rent hikes coupled with limited dormitory capacity are putting pressure on students as well as renters in urban areas across the country. The protests materialized with student-led camping events in Istanbul last week and have since expanded to multiple cities, including Izmir, Kocaeli and Ankara, where police detained nine protesters Monday night.

The developments highlight soaring rent prices in Turkey, where apartment rates grew an average of 55% over the last year and consumers continue to face high inflation that has increased their cost of living.

This month protest organizers launched a Movement of the Unsheltered platform on social media, through which they are prompting citizens impacted by high housing costs to fill out a form and take part in initiatives aiming to spur legislative action that would bring down exorbitant rent prices.