ABSTRACT
Universities have historically acted as large-scale commercial landowners in the towns they inhabit. Recent years have seen universities become increasingly interested in the area around their campuses. Since the 1990s, when the University of Pennsylvania initiated a series of interventions in its insalubrious West Philadelphia surroundings that included improved street lighting, retail development, and landscaping, a range of institutions have undertaken campus-edge developments. Particularly in North America, but also emerging within other Anglophone nations, a new phenomenon has arisen: the university as urban developer. Universities are increasingly recognizing their contribution and responsibilities to the communities in which they are based. As major contributors to the economic health and physical landscape of cities, universities have come to harness real estate development as part of the community development process. Growing numbers of colleges are working with local government, developers, and lenders to deliver the mixed-use projects.
