Sunday, May 15, 2011

Using Universities as a City Anchor

This article discusses Buffalo's population decline and increase of abandonment. To help stabilize the community, it has been proposed to expand the University of Buffalo and use it as an anchor for the city. The University would expand the medical school and move it into the downtown area. More schools would also eventually move downtown, which would hopefully increase housing in the area. There was also some talk of increasing enrollment. Some disagree with this plan because it wold cost 5 billion dollars, and the university would raise tuition to help with the cost.

What are your opinions of this article and the proposed plan? Are you for or against using the University to stimulate the city? Do you think it can work?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/nyregion/buffalo-pins-hope-for-revival-on-university-expansion.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=city%20growth%20abandoned%20buildings&st=cse

7 comments:

  1. This reminded me of an article I read last night that listed 5 US cities unaffected by the bad economy:

    http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finance/article-112711-9608-3-cities-unaffected-by-a-bad-economy?ywaad=ad0035&nc

    It was interesting to note that 3 out of the 5 attributed their resilience to the presence of a big university. That being said, the Buffalo project does concern me in some ways.

    "Where a drab low-income housing project now sits, leaders of the University at Buffalo, part of the State University of New York system, envision glass-and-steel biomedical buildings." -- I wonder whether the housing project will be relocated, and to where. Who will be affected by this in the short-run? How will it affect the 30% of the local population living in poverty?

    "Skeptics see the plan as a fantasy that, at best, would enrich wealthy developers while making the university too expensive for poor students." -- I'm also skeptical of plans that propose to generate growth, while simultaneously widening the gap between rich and poor.

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  2. I like Selin's comments. Universities bring a ton of money to a city and with it employment opportunities. Take western for example Kalamazoo has a significant police force to deal with the trouble. Likewise, Ann Arbor has a bustling night life supported by all the students spending their parents money. Furthermore, universities are sustainable and to an extent (space permitting) scalable two important components aiding a growing city.

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  3. Universities are also extremely stable and valuable tools for building community within a city or area, as well as the points already made. I think this is an investment that the city should make

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  4. I agree. When we were did the Tour de K assignment, the nicest neighborhood by far was the one surrounding our school. Dr. McKinney noted that the most stable neighborhoods are those with an "anchor" of some kind, like a school or a church.

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  5. Universities do support sustainable cities, but they can also take over the city and quite literally engulf the entire culture. Madison, WI is a city that is run by the Badgers. A university should partner with a city, like any other private/ngo entity.

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  6. I agree that a university can be a huge boost to a local economy. Bay City is actually working to bring more schools into the area in the hope that it will bring additional revenue to the area. I think this idea could also be paired with a renewed focus on bringing international students into the US to study. What could be better than bringing in people that dont take many jobs and spend lots of money living in our communities?

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  7. This seems to be a great idea. I think attracting people in a city is way easier if there is a good school or university because education is one reason for which people relocate willingly to another side of the country and even the other side of the world! . My concern is the increase in the tuition fees which would make it harder to attract students.After all didn't we read student debt is the next bubble.Similarly ZachRowley suggests bringing in lots of international students who would spend lot of money without taking any jobs. I believe the high fees would be a significant hindrance for the university in attracting international students because for most internationals the cost of the university is the most important factor when choosing between universities.

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