USC Joins LA's Downtown Rennaisance

"For years, USC has struggled with its image as a campus in the heart of the inner city and tried to link its fortunes to downtown Los Angeles, a few miles north. Now, a newly gentrified and hip downtown is marching south, while the university is creeping north. They haven't quite met, but both USC and downtown officials envision a day when the red-brick campus marks the southern edge of the city center. Several high-end residential tower projects are slated for the areas between USC, Staples Center and the sprawling, sports-themed L.A. Live shopping and hotel complex being built nearby. The effort comes as other universities — including Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago — are aggressively working to improve their tough urban neighborhoods....Linking USC to downtown is far from a new concept, but it took downtown's boom for it to gain traction."