Universities
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign developed a high-frequency coronavirus testing system that would be the envy of an country or corporation, testing students, faculty and staff twice a week, but it still failed to stem a major outbreak.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek
College towns that have been observing public health guidelines and seen relatively few COVID-19 cases are now seeing infections spike as young people return to take classes. The New York Times has been tracking cases in colleges and college towns.
The New York Times
Wastewater testing is being hailed as a success at the University of Arizona, credited for stopping a COVID outbreak. In Utah, wastewater analysis forced almost 300 students to quarantine for four days while awaiting their test results.
The Arizona Republic
Off-campus housing for college students has grown extensively over the last decade. What are communities doing to control the spread of student housing and its potentially negative effect on neighborhoods and affordable housing?
Shelterforce Magazine
Land grant universities are, by design, tasked with benefitting the communities in which they are located. The recent track record on that mission is mixed, according to a recent book on the subject.
Governing
UIC has laid out a master plan to rework "nearly every corner" of its campus. The goal is to accommodate more students and enhance the school's pride and identity.
Chicago Sun-Times
Michigan State University plans to turn its 5,200-acre campus into a test site for advanced transportation technologies.
Ward's Auto
The British firm Scape says it wants to spend $1 billion to build privately operated student housing in Boston. Unaffiliated with any one school, the concept is already popular in London.
The Boston Globe
Emory University wants the city of Atlanta to annex its campus. Transit benefits and more could await.
The Wall Street Journal
Eight Chicago universities have agreed to engage with the city and local communities as they invest in their neighborhoods. The hope is to increase opportunities for employment and economic growth.
Urban Institute
Blog post
Institutional structure and culture can matter as much as location to the success and survival of urban universities.
Despite the improving economy, the outlook for the higher education sector is still poor, especially between the endowment haves and have-nots. Another factor playing a critical role in the success or failure of institutions: their location.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
In an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, James Piereson and Naomi Schaefer Riley argue that its time for educational institutions to pay their fare share of taxes to support the communities in which they reside.
The Wall Street Journal
All too often when we think of 'transportation,' especially transit, our thoughts are overtaken by visions of <em>public</em> transit. Yet, private transit also plays a key role.
Urban Land Magazine
The rise of the innovation economy is driving fierce competition between cities across America to attract medical facilities and universities as job providers and engines of development.
Urban Land Magazine
As the federal and several state governments continue to allow costs for a college education to rise, local governments and business are looking for strategies to stem the tide.
The Huffington Post
While other NYC development is stalled out, colleges and universities are "on a building spree", writes Mitchell Moss, and they are revitalizing old buildings and infrastructure.
The Architect's Newspaper
Blog post
Recently, the new Journal of the American Planning Association editor Randall Crane circulated a message to US planning academics in which he asked for new submissions:
"A reminder that JAPA is interested in your best work in any aspect of planning scholarship -- quantitative or qualitative, foreign or domestic -- that informs practice. We would particularly like to broaden subject content over the next few years."
Temple Uni urban studies prof Ben Kohl replied: "For years I have wished that JAPA would show some interest in the lessons that ‘foreign’ planners and planning experience might have to offer.
Colleges around the U.S. are implementing car sharing services to help reduce the need for private car among their students and faculty.
The Seattle Times
Universities bordering impoverished neighborhoods can do more to improve living conditions, according to the founders of LIFT, a group that trains volunteers. The group is featured on this week's episode of <em>Smart City</em>.
Smart City
