Colleges as a Catalyst for Development

"What's essential to recognize is that as New York's economy and population have evolved, colleges and universities have moved out of the shadows and are playing a more powerful and forceful role in land development," writes Moss for The Architect's Newspaper.

Moss looks at expansion plans from Columbia, NYU, CUNY, and several smaller schools like John Jay College and Medgar Evers College. Because these colleges are urban, they necessarily find themselves pushing against planning and zoning requirements and the needs of their surrounding neighborhoods. Many are finding intense resistance, despite the clear economic benefits higher education brings to the city. Part of the problem, writes Moss, is that "leaders of the city's colleges and universities are anything but shy when it comes to expanding their campuses."