College town
A college town or university town is a community (often literally a town, but possibly a small or medium sized specialized city, or in some cases a neighborhood or a district of a city) which is dominated by its university population. The university may be large, or there may be several smaller institutions such as liberal arts colleges clustered, or the residential population may be small, but college towns in all cases are so dubbed because the presence of the educational institution(s) pervades economic and social life. Many local residents may be employed by the university — which may be the largest employer in the community — many businesses cater primarily to the university, and the students' population may outnumber the local population.
In Europe, a university town is generally characterized by having an old university, often founded before, or in some cases shortly after, the industrial revolution. The economy of the city is closely related with the university activity and highly supported by the entire university structure, which may include university hospitals and clinics, university printing houses, libraries, laboratories, business incubators, student rooms, dining halls, students' unions, student societies, and academic festivities. Moreover, the history of the city is often intertwined with the history of the university itself. Many European university towns have not been merely important places of scientific and educational endeavor, but also centers of political, cultural and social influence to their respective societies throughout the centuries. Examples of these cities include Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Szeged, Kraków, Leiden, Bologna, Coimbra, Salamanca, Leuven, Ghent, Heidelberg, Freiburg, Göttingen, Trondheim, Pisa, Marburg, Ferrara, Uppsala, Siena, Pavia, Delft, Tartu, Tübingen, or Poitiers. Potchefstroom, Grahamstown and Stellenbosch are South African examples of university towns in the European tradition.
Besides a highly educated and largely transient population, a stereotypical college town often features a high number of people living non-traditional lifestyles and subcultures ("college town hippies") and high tolerance for unconventionality in general, an unusually active musical or cultural scene, and unusually left-wing politics, although there are exceptions; many college towns in the Southern United States are right-wing. While relatively lacking heavy industry, many have become centers of technological research and innovative startups.
Town-Gown relations
Main article:
Town and gownAs in the case of a company town, the large and transient population attracted to the university may come into conflict with longstanding natives. Students may come from outside the area, and thus represent a different—sometimes radically different—culture. Furthermore, students are concentrated in a small, young (but still adult) age demographic, whose living habits may be different from older members of society.
Economically, the high spending power of the university and of its students in aggregate may inflate the cost of living above that of the region. Indeed, it is not uncommon to find that many university employees commute in from surrounding areas, finding the cost of living in town too expensive.
Studentification, in which a growing student population move in large numbers to traditionally non-student neighborhoods, may be perceived as a form of invasion or gentrification. The phenomenon has several causes, including university enrollment expanding beyond the capacity of on-campus housing, inadequate zoning enforcement, and student culture. At the same time as neighborhood associations work to limit conversion of family homes to student rentals, some local residents may oppose the construction of large on-campus dormitories or expansion of fraternity and sorority houses, forcing a growing enrollment to seek housing in town. Moreover, a single-family home can be converted into several smaller rental units, or shared by a number of students whose combined resources exceed those of a typical single-family rental—a strong incentive for absentee landlords to cater to students.
In the US, educational institutions are often exempted from paying local taxes, so in the absence of a system for "Payments In Lieu Of Taxes" (PILOT), the university population will disproportionately burden parts of the local public infrastructure, such as roads or law enforcement. Some analysts argue that students relieve the burden on other parts of the local public infrastructure, such as local primary and secondary schools, by far the most costly line item in most North American city and town budgets, they provide tax revenues, through local sales tax and property tax paid by landlords. When a university expands its facilities, the potential loss of property tax revenue is thus a concern, in addition to local desire to preserve open space or historic neighborhoods.
As a result, members of the local population may resent the university, and especially its students. The students, in turn, may criticize the local residents' taking jobs at the university provided by student tuition and fees, and accepting the tax revenues (e.g., local sales tax, property tax on rented properties) that students generate, but resenting students' lifestyles. Some students refer to regular inhabitants as townies, a term with somewhat derogatory connotations.
This "town and gown" dichotomy notwithstanding, students and the outside community typically find a peaceful (even friendly) coexistence, with the town's receiving significant economic and cultural benefits from the university, and the students' often adapting to the culture of the town.
Settlement in college towns
While noise, traffic, and other quality of life issues have not been resolved, some advocates of New Urbanism have led the development of neighborhoods in college towns by specifically capitalizing on their proximity to university life. For instance, some universities have developed properties to allow faculty and staff members to walk to work, reducing demand for limited on-campus parking; Duke University's Trinity Heights development is a key example. In many cases, developers have built communities where access to the university (even if not directly adjacent) is promoted as an advantage.
Student housing is also an important component of college towns. In the United States most state universities have 50 percent or more of their enrolled students living off-campus. This trend, which began in the 1960s, originally meant the conversion of near campus single-family homes to student housing, creating "student ghettos."
Colleges and other developers began building purpose-built off-campus student housing areas in the 1970s in more college towns. The Cotton District in Starkville, Mississippi is an especially well-designed example of such a development. Beginning around 2000 in the United States, nationwide real estate investment trusts (REIT) and publicly traded corporations began developing student housing complexes.
Another notable development since the 1990s is the surge in popularity of retirees relocating to college towns. Retirees are attracted to these locations because of cultural and educational opportunities, college athletic events, good medical facilities (often at teaching hospitals affiliated with medical schools), a low cost of living, and often a pedestrian- or public transit-friendly development pattern. Several development companies now specialize in constructing retirement communities in college towns. In some cases the communities have developed formal relationships with the local institution.
The demand for housing from students, faculty, staff, and retirees has kept college town home prices stable during the housing market downturn that began in 2005.[1]
College towns worldwide
The college town is largely an American phenomenon, according to Blake Gumprecht, an assistant professor of geography at the University of New Hampshire;[2] in Europe and Asia, most institutions of higher education grew together with major cities—with considerable exceptions such as Pantnagar, Aligarh, Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, Aberystwyth, St. Andrews, Coimbra, Lund, Trondheim and Heidelberg. As new institutions are increasingly founded in outlying locations to serve growing student populations, the phenomenon of the college town is recognizable worldwide.
College towns in Europe
Germany
- Freiburg im Breisgau (Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg, Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, International University of Cooperative Education, Protestant University for Applied Sciences Freiburg, University of Freiburg)
- Göttingen (University of Göttingen)
- Greifswald (University of Greifswald)
- Heidelberg (Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg, Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg, Schiller International University, University of Applied Sciences in Heidelberg, University of Heidelberg)
- Jena (University of Applied Sciences in Jena, University of Jena)
- Konstanz (University of Applied Sciences in Konstanz, University of Konstanz)
- Marburg (University of Marburg)
- Tübingen (University of Tübingen)
- Greifswald (Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald)
Portugal
Republic of Ireland
United Kingdom
- Aberystwyth (Aberystwyth University)
- Bangor, Gwynedd (Bangor University)
- Birmingham (Aston University, Birmingham City University, Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham School of Acting, Newman University College, University College Birmingham, University of Birmingham)
- Cambridge (Anglia Ruskin University, University of Cambridge)
- Canterbury (Canterbury Christ Church University, University of Kent)
- Cardiff (Cardiff University)
- Colchester (University of Essex, Colchester Institute)
- Coleraine (University of Ulster at Coleraine)
- Derry (Magee College)
- Durham (Durham University)
- Hatfield, Hertfordshire (University of Hertfordshire)
- High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire New University)
- Kingston upon Hull (Hull School of Art, Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, University of Lincoln)
- Lampeter (University of Wales, Trinity Saint David)
- Leeds (Leeds College of Art, Leeds College of Music, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, University of Leeds)
- Middlesbrough (Teesside University)
- Newport, Shropshire (Harper Adams University College, Keele University)
- Nottingham (Nottingham Trent University, University of Nottingham)
- Oxford (Oxford Brookes University, University of Oxford)
- St Andrews (University of St Andrews)
- York (The College of Law, University of York, York St John University)
- Worcester (University of Worcester) (Worcester College of Technology)
- Wrexham (Glyndwr University, Yale College Wrexham)
College towns in the United States
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
- Angwin (Pacific Union College)[4]
- Arcata (Humboldt State University)[6]
- Berkeley (University of California, Berkeley)[6]
- Chico (California State University, Chico)[4]
- Claremont (Claremont McKenna College, Pomona College, Harvey Mudd College, Scripps College, Pitzer College, Keck Graduate Institute, Claremont Graduate University)[6]
- Davis (University of California, Davis)[3]
- Irvine (University of California, Irvine)
- Isla Vista (University of California, Santa Barbara)[4]
- Orange (Chapman University)
- Palo Alto (Stanford University)
- Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, WesternU)[10][11][12] and formerly Pomona College
- Redlands (University of Redlands)
- Riverside (University of California, Riverside, California Baptist University, La Sierra University)
- San Luis Obispo (California Polytechnic State University)[4]
- University District of San Bernardino (California State University, San Bernardino, American Sports University)
- Santa Barbara (Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara City College, University of California, Santa Barbara, Westmont College)[4]
- Santa Cruz (University of California, Santa Cruz)[4]
- Turlock (California State University, Stanislaus)
- Westwood, Los Angeles (University of California, Los Angeles)[4]
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
- Bemidji (Bemidji State University)[4]
- Crookston (University of Minnesota Crookston)[4]
- Duluth (University of Minnesota Duluth, Lake Superior College, The College of St. Scholastica, University of Wisconsin–Superior, Duluth Business University
- Faribault, South Central College
- Mankato (Minnesota State University, Mankato),[4] Bethany Lutheran College
- Marshall (Southwest Minnesota State University)[4]
- Minneapolis (University of Minnesota)[4]
- Moorhead (Minnesota State University, Moorhead, Concordia College)[20]
- Morris (University of Minnesota Morris)[4]
- Northfield (Carleton College, St. Olaf College)[6]
- North Mankato, South Central College
- St. Cloud (St. Cloud State University, The College of St. Scholastica)[4]
- St. Joseph (College of Saint Benedict)[4]
- St. Paul (University of Minnesota, Hamline University, Macalester College, University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), The College of St. Scholastica)[4]
- St. Peter (Gustavus Adolphus College)[4]
- Winona (Winona State University, St. Mary's University of Minnesota)[21]
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
- Alfred (Alfred University, Alfred State College)[4]
- Albany (SUNY Albany, Siena College, Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany Law School, Albany Medical College, College of Saint Rose, Excelsior College, Maria College of Albany, Mildred Elley, Sage College of Albany)
- Aurora (Wells College)[23]
- Binghamton (Binghamton University)[4]
- Brockport (SUNY Brockport)[6]
- Canton (St. Lawrence University, SUNY Canton)[4]
- Clinton (Hamilton College)[4]
- Cobleskill (SUNY Cobleskill)[4]
- Delhi (SUNY Delhi)[4]
- Fredonia (SUNY Fredonia)[4]
- Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo)[4]
- Hamilton (Colgate University)[4]
- Ithaca (Cornell University, Ithaca College)[3]
- Morningside Heights, New York City (Columbia University, Barnard College, Teachers College, Manhattan School of Music, Jewish Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, Bank Street College of Education)
- New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz)[4]
- Oneonta (SUNY Oneonta, Hartwick College)[4]
- Oswego (SUNY Oswego)[4]
- Plattsburgh (SUNY Plattsburgh)[4]
- Potsdam (SUNY Potsdam, Clarkson University)[4]
- Poughkeepsie (Vassar College, Marist College)[4]
- Rochester (University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Nazareth College, St. John Fisher College, Monroe Community College, Roberts Wesleyan College, SUNY Brockport, SUNY Empire State College)[4]
- Saratoga Springs (Skidmore College)[4]
- Stony Brook (Stony Brook University)
- Syracuse (Syracuse University)
- West Point (United States Military Academy)
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
- Altoona (Penn State Altoona)
- Annville (Lebanon Valley College)[4]
- Bethlehem (Lehigh University, Moravian College)
- Bloomsburg (Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- Bradford (University of Pittsburgh at Bradford)
- California (California University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- Carlisle (Dickinson College)
- Clarion (Clarion University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- Collegeville (Ursinus College)
- Cresson (Mount Aloysius College)[4]
- East Stroudsburg (East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- Edinboro (Edinboro University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- Erie (Gannon University, Mercyhurst College, Penn State Erie)
- Gettysburg (Gettysburg College)[4]
- Greensburg (Seton Hill University, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg)
- Grove City (Grove City College)[4]
- Huntingdon (Juniata College)[4]
- Indiana (Indiana University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- Johnstown (University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown)
- Kutztown (Kutztown University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- Lewisburg (Bucknell University)[6]
- Lock Haven (Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- Loretto (St. Francis University)[4]
- Mansfield (Mansfield University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- Meadville (Allegheny College)
- Mont Alto (Penn State Mont Alto)
- Millersville (Millersville University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- New Wilmington (Westminster College)[4]
- North East (Mercyhurst North East)
- University City, Philadelphia (Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia)
- Oakland, Pittsburgh (Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Carlow University)
- Selinsgrove (Susquehanna University)[4]
- Shippensburg (Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- Slippery Rock (Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania)[4]
- State College (Pennsylvania State University)[24]
- Waynesburg (Waynesburg University)
- West Chester (West Chester University of Pennsylvania)
- Wilkes-Barre (King's College)
- Williamsport (Lycoming College, Pennsylvania College of Technology)[4]
Puerto Rico
- Mayagüez, Puerto Rico (UPR Mayagüez, Hostos School of Law, Pontifical Catholic University, Antillean Adventist University)
- Ponce, Puerto Rico (Caribbean University, Inter-American University, Ponce School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University,
- UPR Ponce (Turabo University)
- Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico (University of Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras)
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
College towns in Canada
- Kingston, Ontario (Queen's University, St. Lawrence College, and Royal Military College of Canada)
- Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario (University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College)
- Halifax, Nova Scotia (Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia Community College, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, University of King's College)
- Wolfville, Nova Scotia (Acadia University)
- Antigonish, Nova Scotia (St. Francis Xavier University)
- Sherbrooke, Quebec (Université de Sherbrooke, Bishop's University, Champlain College Lennoxville, Cégep de Sherbrooke)
See also
Notes
- ^ Gopal, Prashant (March 13, 2008). "College Towns: Still a Smart Investment". BusinessWeek. http://businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/mar2008/bw20080313_093883.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_lifestyle. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ http://pubpages.unh.edu/~gumprech/20-percent-towns.pdf
- ^ a b c d e f g "Professor Writes First Book about Life in the American College Town". Newswise. November 10, 2008. http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/546238/. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd fe ff fg fh fi fj fk fl fm fn fo fp fq fr fs ft fu fv fw fx fy fz ga gb gc gd ge gf gg gh gi gj gk gl gm gn go gp gq gr gs gt gu gv gw gx gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu hv hw hx hy hz ia ib ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir is it Blake Gumprecht, The American College Town
- ^ "College-town life has good and bad points". Tuscaloosa News. May 16, 2006. http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060516/PULSE02/605160308/1005/9112002. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar Blake Gumprecht, The American College Town
- ^ NAU and Flagstaff make list of 'great college towns', Northern Arizona University press release, April 18, 2007]
- ^ "Fayetteville, Ark., no longer just a college town". Deseret News. July 30, 2007. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_/ai_n19436157. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ Serrano, Richard A. (January 26, 2008). "Huckabee's Jonesboro book still rankles". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jan/26/nation/na-huckabee26. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ Fair Oaks Walk - Frequently Asked Questions
- ^ http://adserver1.harvestadsdepot.com/medlanivdb/ss/livinghere/element/ads.shtml
- ^ Older Suburbs in the Los Angeles MetropolitanArea
- ^ Casnocha, Ben (October 10, 2008). "Start-Up Town". The American. http://www.american.com/archive/2008/september-october-magazine/start-up-town. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ "Frontier Outpost Grows Up". Sunset. October 2001. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1216/is_/ai_78901497. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ a b Winnie, Trista.Top 10 Small College Towns for Investment, NuWire Investor, August 15, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f Jaschik, Scott (October 20, 2008). "'The American College Town'". Inside Higher Ed. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/10/20/collegetown. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ Morton, David (September 29, 2006). "Shell of a Town". Washington City Paper. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/cover/2006/cover0929.html.
- ^ Albion College Special Collections Historical Tour: Goodrich Chapel
- ^ "University Cities" Reference.com. Retrieved on 15 July 2009.
- ^ a b "Ben's Hometown of Moorhead - Moorhead, Minnesota". VirtualTourist.com. 16-03-2003. http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/576e8/c6aae/. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- ^ "About Winona MN". Weekend on Wheels 2009. http://www.bikewow.org/place/. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ a b c d e Ten College Towns for Grownups, Kiplinger's
- ^ Brad Edmondson, "All Dolled Up", Preservation Magazine, May/June 2002, reprinted by Aurora Coalition, Inc., accessed 10 Apr 2009
- ^ Small, Leslie (October 28, 2008). "Is State College 'real' enough for Palin?". Daily Collegian. http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/10/28/is_state_college_real_enough_f.aspx. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ Kurlantzick, Joshua (October 26, 2008). "36 Hours in Charlottesville". New York Times. http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/travel/26hours.html?8dpc. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
References
- Gumprecht, Blake. "The American College Town", The Geographical Review 93:1, January 2003.
- Gumprecht, Blake. "Fraternity Row, the Student Ghetto, and the Faculty Enclave: Characteristic Residential Districts in the American College Town", Journal of Urban History, 32:2, January 2006.
- Gumprecht, Blake. "Stadium Culture: College Athletics and the Making of Place in the American College Town", Southeastern Geographer 43:1, May 2003.