The university's plans, which are subject to approval next week, are strongly opposed by local residents, who city decades of poor relations with the elite institution.
"...by next Monday the city's planning authority must decide whether or not to allow the redevelopment of 17 acres in west Harlem and let Columbia go ahead with a massive expansion of its campus that would cost it $7 billion over the next 25 years.
The proposal, fiercely resisted by many local residents who say it will encroach upon the black American nature of Harlem, would mark the third dramatic expansion in Columbia's history since it was founded with just eight students in 1754 in what is now downtown Manhattan."
"Columbia University...says it needs to expand again so that it can remain globally competitive. Bollinger points out that Columbia students, of whom there are now more than 2,000, enjoy less than half the space per head than their equivalents at rivals Harvard, Yale or Princeton."
"The university has earmarked a largely manufacturing area in west Harlem which it plans to develop into 'Manhattanville', complete with a new business centre, research laboratories, and improved facilities for students and professors.
Renzo Piano, co-designer of the Paris Pompidou centre and architect of the recently completed New York Times building in Manhattan, has produced the plans in sparkling glass and metal."
"A community board of local groups and businesses has already voted against Manhattanville by 32 to two votes. Residents have been angered by the threatened use of "eminent domain" to compulsorily purchase the homes of around 400 people living in the Manhattanville zone.
The hostility rests upon decades of mutual suspicions.
Columbia, with its mainly white and affluent student body, stands on top of a hill, rather like a medieval Italian town, overlooking the largely black and until recently overwhelmingly poor neighbourhood of central Harlem."
FULL STORY: Harlem takes on university in battle of town versus gown
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
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