Town and Gown: Making Institutional and Community Development Work Together

Abstract

Major urban institutions may no longer pursue strictly internal strategies by expanding their campuses and shrinking the neighborhoods around them. Further, even without expansion needs, urban institutions cannot view adjacent neighborhood areas as beyond their concern, subject only to natural market forces and/or the leadership of local governments. Instead, they must form multiple strong partnerships with neighborhood leadership groups using the same neighborhood "boundaries" set by the city, and set long term visions that serve both partners and approach local government together to achieve those goals. Institutions must also be prepared to coinvest in the resulting projects.