Community Report TownGown World invites near campus communities to share their perspective of life living beside higher education institutions. In some cases, these articles highlight the importance of finding collaborative actions to develop sustainable university communities.
Boston, MA Building to Community Scale By Susan Ashbrook, Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, USA Feb, 2008
The Berklee College of Music Community Task Force, representing local residents, business and cultural organizations, was formed in September 2006 to participate in the development of the colleges Institutional Master Plan, as required by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). Berklee, an undergraduate college with approximately 4,000 students dedicated to the study of contemporary music, has grown piece-meal since its foundation in 1945. Most of its classrooms, administration and housing are scattered around a variety of spaces, leased and owned, amidst densely populated neighborhoods.
The college is seeking to provide dormitory space for a larger percentage of its student population, to build a new state-of-the-art performance center, and to consolidate some of its administrative functions closer to the heart of its campus. In a draft of its Institutional Master Plan Notification Form published last fall, Berklee proposed to accommodate these needs in a tower of as much as 35 stories, to be built on the only significant parcel of land that it owns, on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street.
This prominent site abuts the high-rise Prudential Center to its east but is characterized by low commercial buildings from the turn-of-the century, and adjoins a dense residential neighborhood of small scale apartment buildings. In response the Task Force voiced support for Berklees goal of creating an architectural identity where none has existed but expressed in the strongest terms the dismay felt by most members at the inappropriate scale proposed for the site.
At the time of writing the college has backed away from the proposed tower as it pursues acquisition of an adjacent site that will allow a larger footprint and thus a lower structure. The Berklee administration so far has responded to the Task Forces strongly stated objections, and the community process seems to have encouraged other options to be brought forward. The Task Force is hopeful that Berklees needs can be met in a manner that is in harmony with the neighborhood in which it resides
Southhampton England By Lorraine Barter, Spokesperson-Residents Action, UK Dec 2007 Residents Action is a residents pressure group founded ten years ago to attract the Local Councils attention to the awful lifestyle suffered in the Polygon area as students moved in and there was an increase in pubs and bars opened to cater for the student market. We are a member of the HMO Lobby,their site has a link to our address.
Fifteen years ago the Polygon area of Southampton, England was a very desirable place in which to live. The semi detached Edwardian houses had a character that was unique, and the whole area had an elegant ambience.
Today, the ratio of Houses in Multiple Occupation to Family homes is 2.75 HMOs to 1 Family Home. Students and other young singles live in houses that have four bedrooms but many landlords make the lounges into bedrooms so that the occupiers have little space in which to relax or entertain their friends. This of course only encourages them to go out clubbing more often.
Editors note. Lorraine also commented how difficult it is to enforce community standards in the neighbourhood, but with support from the police things have improved over the last ten years, but not without continued problems. This community example is probably familiar to many. The result is an unbalanced community, with according to Lorraine a 73% concentration of HMOs in her area.
