ABSTRACT
University real estate development is a new area of academic and applied inquiry. As discussed in the introductory chapter, these development activities are part of the larger issue of the relations between the university and its city and community, and they raise perennial questions. But these questions have become more pronounced with the increased role of large research universities, in particular, as major employers, generators of economic development, and key components of the local, national, and global knowledge economy. This chapter sums up what we have learned about the nature of university development projects-their impact on the university's neighborhood and the city, and on the institution itself. How do universities go about implementing these projects, and what appear to be the best practices? What are the policy, practice, and research questions raised by the increasing role of universities as developers in their cities?
