Elections come and go. Universities stay

While cities are often governed in four-year terms, the investments that make them globally competitive, in talent, research and innovation, take decades to pay off. In an increasingly short-term political environment, universities are uniquely situated to help lead the long-term economic development that regional economies require. Bridging that gap requires institutions that stay put while officeholders change. Universities can be some of our most powerful city-building institutions, and innovation districts offer one of the clearest ways to turn that potential into action.

Universities are already driving long-term regional growth, and for good reason: they are rooted in place. Their campuses and workforces cannot be relocated, and many have outlasted a century of economic and political cycles. They provide stable employment for almost 6 million workers, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. That is roughly 4% of U.S. jobs, and a substantially higher share in cities large and small. 

However, public confidence in higher education has fallen sharply over the past decade, and universities face real pressure over cost, value and their role in public life. That is exactly why this moment matters. Universities have the opportunity to leverage innovation districts — compact, walkable neighborhoods where a university and established companies sit alongside startups, labs, housing, shops and public space — as a way to show their value in terms every community understands. An innovation district is not a research park behind a fence. They make it easier for ideas to travel across a street instead of a highway, creating jobs, housing and gathering places that many cities still lack.

Universities bridge divides, build partnerships

University-sponsored districts often bridge partisan divides. At HR&A Advisors, an economic development and real estate advisory firm, we’ve worked with Vanderbilt University and San Diego State University on their innovation districts. Both districts are working with their partners in government. In September, the Nashville City Council unanimously approved Vanderbilt’s Innovation Neighborhood, a 40-acre district planned as home to thousands of jobs and residents. In San Diego, SDSU won voter approval to redevelop 230 acres in Mission Valley as a new hub for research and innovation, alongside housing and parks. 

Just as important, both universities are building partnerships beyond their campus: SDSU is working with the San Diego Community College District on workforce training in a shared facility, while Vanderbilt helped launch the Nashville Innovation Alliance, a public-private partnership that brings together the region’s innovation organizations. Different cities and political contexts, but a similar formula: university leadership, broad public support and partnerships that extend beyond campus.

The payoff can be substantial. A Cornell Tech report found that the innovation district and its New York City–based alumni and startups generated $768 million in economic impact and supported 2,800 jobs in a single year. Its alumni and startups alone are on track to reach $1.5 billion a year and 7,000 jobs by 2030. Three-quarters of the students who move to New York for Cornell Tech stay in the region after graduating. Those are the kinds of results that make long-term investment easier to support, regardless of party.

The best districts treat development as seriously as academia 

University leaders do not measure success by election results or profit. They measure it by their long-term ability to attract talent, advance research and prepare graduates for productive careers. But success is not guaranteed. The innovation districts that work tap into the region’s real strengths and the university’s expertise, finding the common ground that attracts entrepreneurs and corporations and closing the gaps that make it hard to compete with Silicon Valley, Boston and other established centers. In Nashville, that meant first identifying which industries could grow and create high-paying jobs, then planning the district around them. At SDSU, a clear vision and business plan helped the university bring on a development partner and lay the groundwork for its first building.

The best districts treat development as seriously as the academic mission. Universities have to navigate public approval processes, real estate cycles and developer negotiations while balancing academic goals against financial sustainability. And they need durable partnerships among universities, government, business and philanthropy that can keep the work moving as elected leaders change. The strongest districts also deliver benefits the surrounding community can see and use, from housing and workforce pathways to public space. Most importantly, successful districts are not built by copying Silicon Valley or Boston; they are built around what a region can credibly be best at.

Innovation districts think in generations

While most big projects are judged at the ribbon-cutting, innovation districts work on a different clock. They grow the companies, jobs and skills a region will rely on for a generation, and its biggest returns rarely arrive within an elected official’s single term in office. 

That is why universities, which think in decades, are so well positioned to lead, and why elected officials at every level, chambers, economic development groups and foundations should stand with them as public trust in these institutions falters. Thinking big also means looking beyond the main quad. Vanderbilt found opportunity on underused campus land; SDSU looked to Mission Valley. The strongest districts connect that land to the surrounding community while creating long-term value for the university itself.

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Kate Wittels is a Partner and Thomas Jansen is a Principal at HR&A Advisors, an economic development and real estate advisory firm.