Collaborative Planning: Does it Exist ? TownGown World Discussion Topic :Nov 2007
Collaborative Community Planning Does it Exist? Nov 2007 Discussion Governments around the world are increasingly focused on education as an economic driver. Academic institutions are being encouraged by their governments to accept an ever great volume of students, and enrolments are booming. Planning for this growth is very complex, and many universities have long term campus plans that allow for proper allocations of resources to meet their projected needs into the future. Very few educational institutions or the governments that fund them extend this type of planning to include the surrounding residential community, or the host municipality in which they reside. TownGown Worlds contributing writers will share their local experiences with collaborative university/ neighbourhood planning processes, as well as their thoughts on coming trends. (GO TO ARTICLE)
University of Cincinnati
2006
The University commissioned a study on university/community joint planning, to help guide it in its work to reinvigorate its own campus neighborhood. In order to learn from peer urban/metropolitan universities engaged in similar efforts, UC commissioned what is believed to be the first broad attempt to grade such efforts throughout the United States and Canada. The report includes 21 case studies detailing university efforts, as well as a detailed report card of 11 of those universities across 16 criteria.
Collaborative Community Planning: Does it exist? A UK Perspective Dr Richard Tyler Nov 2007
The short answer is that in the UK, no, it doesn't exist.
Higher education (HE) expansion in the UK has been explosive, following a government policy to expand HE massively, from a low base to a 50% uptake. This has generated rapid and profound change (dubbed studentification) which until recently has been entirely over-looked by national government and by Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs,) while (in consequence) exacerbating the anger of local communities (and also local government).
On the one hand, the is entirely in denial that any substantial problems exist, Universities UK fudges the issue, and central government blames local government for not managing the problems (though declining to give them the powers). On the other hand, the has emerged, as a network of community groups attempting to resist studentification, and has recently been joined by the Councillors Campaign for Balanced Communities (comprising local government councillors) and by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Sustainable & Balanced Communities (comprising Members of Parliament).
In this context, collaboration is virtually impossible. One or two towns (in particular Leeds and Nottingham) have established multi-agency committees, to attempt partnership working. But conflict of interest makes collaboration very difficult. Most university towns lack any co-ordinating strategy.
The nearest we have got to any sort of planning are the local HMO plans adopted by some towns (not all in response to studentification - some are provoked by other markets for HMOs). Two main strategies have been to adopt Areas of Restraint and/or Thresholds for proportions of HMOs (but in most of the UK, planning legislation is too weak to control HMO development effectively).
Purpose-built developments have lately emerged and begun "to relieve the stress on university city neighborhoods." However, these have a long way to go, to be effective, and anyway, often generate problems of their own.
A few unis are beginning to recognise the problems experienced by local communities 'living in the shadow of the ivory tower.' For instance, a pioneer was the Vice Chancellor of Loughborough University in her presentation to the Parliamentary University Group in November of last year. This year, the two universities in Nottingham have committed themselves to supporting changes in planning legislation to manage HMOs. So too has Leeds University, as well as supporting the introduction of Additional HMO Licensing. And this University has said explicitly, "demographic imbalance [is] an issue ... in certain areas the concentration of students creates significant problems in creating a sustainable community ... It is acknowledged that in some areas the loss of community can not be mitigated by an increased access to resources and facilities." It's notable that these universities are in towns where the most effective community campaigns have been mounted.
Collaborative Community Planning Does it Exist? Common Threads Planning for student housing a Key Focus
lack of government policy, and the relative incapacity of institutional actors to effectively intervene or regulate the residential geographies of students, is yielding unbalanced populations in a range of urban contexts.
colleges and universities must both recognize that the fate of the institution and its neighborhood are intertwined and a comprehensive program addressing all the factors that contribute to community stability must be developed.
In certain areas the concentration of students creates significant problems in creating a sustainable community. In some areas the loss of community can not be mitigated by an increased access to resources and facilities.
the development of collaborative groups leads to improvement in identifying and defining common interests and problems. Many communities seek solutions to the effects of student enrolment increases, but invariably these solutions run into both legislative and enforcement barriers that make the effectiveness of these solutions problematic.
Collaborative Community Planning: Does it Exist? An Ontario, Canada Perspective Rob Payne Nov 2007
Major steps have been taken over the last number of years in Ontario to develop Collaborative models between all stakeholders interested in the dynamics between academic institutions, host municipalities and their near campus communities. Enrolment is booming, with a greater than 30 percent average increase over the last five years, a doubling of the average enrolment increase experienced over the previous decade .
Educational institutions have struggled to cope with the rising demand, but government under funding has resulted in many institutions downloading auxiliary costs such as housing on to near campus communities who are unprepared to receive them. On-campus housing, traditionally provided to all first years and at least one half of second year students decreased, with some universities struggling to house their first year enrolment.
As a result of these stresses, Town and Gown interactions increased, driven mainly by permanent residents concerns for the sustainability of their communities, as well as a perceived reduction in their quality of life. Town and Gown committees sprang up in many municipalities, and efforts made to establish a provincial group were initiated, as many parties saw the similarities of issues that all municipalities faced. This effort was successful, with the being formed in 2004. Certainly the development of collaborative groups led to improvement in identifying and defining common interests and problems. Many municipalities are seeking solutions to the effects of enrolment increases, but invariably these solutions run into both legislative and enforcement barriers that make the effectiveness of these solutions problematic. The availability of a communication clearing house offered by TGAO has certainly helped speed communications among municipalities, who are now able to use programs being applied in other areas as a catalyst for change in their respective communities.
Unfortunately, there are no examples which tackle the root causes of poor planning and expanding enrolments as well as the impact on the surrounding community, as to date the decision on university size lies with the individual academic institution alone. True collaboration between universities and communities should result in integrated joint planning try and ensure the sustainability of both the community and the university, but to date this type of cohesive planning has not occurred.
As a result ,despite the development of good communication structures, the increase in concentration of transitory housing to levels that risk basic infrastructure services such as primary schools will continue. Until we begin to develop true collaborative models that address such root causes as enrolment growth, and develop joint plans to mitigate the consequent negative impacts on the surrounding neighbourhoods, the sustainability of near campus neighbourhoods as balanced vibrant communities will remain in jeopardy.
Towards a Vision of a Vibrant Urban Campus Integrated with the Surrounding Neighborhood Harry Mattison Jan 2008, USA
Of all the worlds university expansions underway or planned, one stands head and shoulders above the rest. Harvard University, the worlds wealthiest university with a $35 billion endowment, owns more than 300 acres in the Allston and Brighton neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. In January 2007, Harvard announced plans for 4 to 5 million square feet of new construction in the next 20 years and another 4 to 5 million square feet in the 30 years after that. For comparison, the combined size of these projects is more than 3 times the size of the Empire State Building!
Readers of the and Harvard Allston Life Task Force report, or any urban visionary, can imagine the wonderful outcome that this campus expansion could have. Harvard gains much-needed space for research, teaching, housing, and cultural facilities. The diverse Allston and Brighton neighborhoods and the local economy are invigorated while existing residents continue to be part of the community. Stunning new buildings are built and citizens of Boston and beyond benefit from increased access to Harvards vast museum collections that now languish in storage.
On the way to what could be this great result, residents of Allston and Brighton have watched Harvard purchase dozens of commercial, industrial, and residential properties in the past decade. Since Harvards purchase, many of these formerly active buildings have sat vacant during a red-hot real estate market elsewhere in Boston. Hundreds of jobs have been lost, valuable neighborhood stores and services are gone, and even in its 50-year plan Harvard offered no ideas for acres of under-utilized property in the core of the neighborhood.
Decades of massive construction loom in the future for this densely-packed urban neighborhood. Roads are already over-burdened by the existing traffic even before the addition of thousands of construction workers and their equipment. Transportation improvements have been discussed but have not moved beyond preliminary visioning.
A City-appointed Task Force and the grass-roots Allston/Brighton Neighborhood Assembly, and Harvard Students for Ethical Expansion and Development are seeking mutually beneficial outcomes to Harvards expansion, in contrast to the exclusionary approach being taken by Harvard's planning staff. Harvard and Allston/Brighton will both be best served by the development of a vibrant urban campus that integrates with the surrounding neighborhood and the creation of new housing, new jobs, and a variety of new attractions (stores, museums, parks, etc.) that will make the campus and community more liveable and interesting.
In 2008, discussions about the Master Plan for Harvards new campus will continue. Harvard has the land, money, and all other resources needed to create a dynamic urban campus and support a community that would benefit the university as a wonderful place for its affiliates and others to live, work, learn, and play. Members of the Harvard and Allston/Brighton communities, concerned by steps Harvard took during 2007 to segregate its new campus from the nearby neighborhood, will advocate for a planning process and result that will positively redefine how universities can expand and simultaneously enrich themselves and their surroundings.
Editor's note : Harry Mattison is a long time resident homeowner living in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Harry serves as a member of the Harvard Universities Institutional Master Plan Community Task Force for Allston. He created and maintains the website as well as the which extensively covers among other topics the expansion plans of Harvard and Boston College. Harry also moderates , an email discussion group created to help support communication, information sharing, and community organizing in Allston.
Editor's Note: Examples of good higher education /Community collaborative planning seem to occur when;
The neighborhood deteriorates to the point where the surrounding community is negatively impacting university recruitment of students and faculty The local neighborhood Association is strong enough to force change
If there are any examples out there where neither of the above was the initial catalyst for change, please send me an email.
Collaborative Planning: A USA Perspective The University as Urban Planner: Town Gown Cooperation in the United States Bob Karrow Nov2007
Over the last decade universities have become increasingly active in working with their host communities to better the near-campus built environment. Sometimes this is driven by the decline of the areas surrounding the campus. Public service has always been a significant element in the mission of higher education, but since most universities are place bound a healthy dose of the instinct for self-preservation may be the deciding factor in initiating the involvement. In recent years however, more universities are realizing that a healthy community is a necessary asset for the institution to continue to move forward with its work.
Adding impetus to universities becoming active in joint planning is the fact that over the last 40 years, more communities have experienced reductions in budgets that have necessitated cutbacks in city planning staffs. Coupled with cuts in federal urban renewal funding this has made cities less able to implement the type of large scale planning that was common in the 1950s and 60s.
In the United States, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia was one of the leaders in developing major initiatives to turn around the neighborhood surrounding its campus. In 1996, 38 armed robberies occurred on or near the U. Penn campus. The situation reached a crisis point when a 38-year-old university biochemist was stabbed during a robbery and died. University President Judith Rodin assessed the situation in her hometown of West Philadelphia, and Penn, the campus she lead. Her response was to create a massive initiative that ultimately would create a new environment for both entities. Penn worked with Philadelphia to create the West Philadelphia Initiative and Campus Development Plan. These two programs focused on: Cleaning up the area and improving safety through special service districts targeting public space maintenance, and increasing the size of the university police force. Homeownership, by creating incentives for faculty and staff to buy or improve homes in the adjacent area. To date more than 400 have moved into the neighborhood. Commercial development, converting the land on the campus edge the mixed-use space and new retail establishments which brought more than 40 new businesses into the area, a significant number of them locally owned. Economic inclusion, which the university created by focusing on buying locally whenever possible. This shifted approximately $50 million into the local economy helping to create an economic base and employment opportunities. It also brought significant income to local, minority-owned businesses Investing in public education, a unique undertaking for the time, had Penn actively working with the Philadelphia School District. Together they constructed the Penn Alexander School, a K-8 facility, and Penn helped to support it with an additional $1K per pupil per year for 10 years. Many new residents view the school as the tipping point that made the university neighborhood turnaround possible. By 2005 the Penn/West Philadelphia story was an inspiring example of what a university and community committed to working toward a common goal could accomplish. As one university employee involved in the home purchase assistance program reflected, My options were to live in Philadelphia or move out to suburbia. I hate suburbia. Its too homogenous. I like the neighborhood. I like old houses. ...We have new restaurants coming up. And I like the fact that there are people who have nothing to do with the University coexisting with people who are part of the university. This in an areas where five years earlier most faculty or staff would not have considered purchasing a home. During the same period, Yale University in New Haven, CT, was working with the city in a manner that paralleled the Penn initiative. Penn and Yale are pursuing similar strategic initiatives, and I think both of us are ahead of the curve in a growing trend of the university being a good institutional citizen. Stephen Morand, associate vice president for New Haven and state affairs at Yale University said in 2006. Across the U.S. this type of joint development planning is occurring more regularly. In fact, by 2006, when the University of Cincinnati commissioned a study on university/community joint planning, to help guide it in its work to reinvigorate its own campus neighborhood, a total of 21 such endeavors across the U.S. and Canada were identified at peer institutions.) These examples have been predominantly from large urban universities, but a similar trend in town gown cooperative efforts is apparent in smaller university cites across the U.S. as well. A case in point is the joint planning between Ohio University and the city of Athens, OH (population: 21,342, university enrollment: 21,342), where the city recently completed a comprehensive plan update with the assistance of the university commissioning an Off-Campus Capacity Analysis Report dealing with the effects of off-campus student housing in the community. (See the Athens, OH listing in the the page of CollegeTownLife.com) As institutions of higher education and their host communities move forward into the 21st century, it seems clear that the Academy is realizing that the interconnections between town and gown are integral to the success of both entities. A 2002 article from the Penn Current may have described the emerging climate best, saying that colleges and universities must both recognize that the fate of the institution and its neighborhood [are] intertwined and put together a comprehensive program addressing all the factors that contribute to community stability.
Urban Designs for College Towns
a leading organization promoting walkable, neighborhood-based development as an alternative to sprawl, has awarded a prestigious
Fayetteville is a College town in scenic Arkansas experiencing significant growth and sprawl.The city won this award by developing a comprehensive plan that makes walkable urban neighborhoods the preferred development pattern for the city.
