The good, bad, and ugly of campus expansion: Two case studies of urban university expansion initiatives in Boston and New York

Tensions between urban universities and cities are powered by conflicting ideas about land use, economic development, and urban problem-solving. These tensions become sharper as university campuses expand into surrounding neighborhoods.Through two case studies, this study aims to illuminate the chief impacts of expansion initiatives according to internal and external constituents, as well as to identify salient organizational characteristics which influence perceptions. Internal constituents include administrators, faculty, students, and alumni, while external constituents include neighborhood residents, business leaders, and government leaders. Four primary research questions were addressed: (1) What are the impacts of campus expansion initiatives according to internal constituents? (2) What are the impacts of campus expansion initiatives according to external constituents? (3) What university characteristics influence reactions to expansion? and (4) What neighborhood characteristics influence reactions to expansion? Data studied included extensive constituent interviews, documents such as university reports and local newspapers, and observations of campuses and neighborhoods.Findings show that the chief perceived impacts on campuses include the creation of new space (which ultimately allows a university to compete more effectively in the higher education arena), increased safety, as well as the improved physical appearance of campus and neighborhood. While a number of common impacts emerge, a wide degree of variation surfaces between internal and external constituents and case studies, as stakeholders often have competing interests and priorities. A diversity of opinions emerges, as various internal constituents often have divergent perceptions about impacts that frequently conflict with external constituents.Internal constituents believe that the chief neighborhood impact of expansion is gentrification, the displacement of residents and businesses. Meanwhile, though external constituents believe that change in the availability of affordable housing is the single most common impact of expansion, they also widely believe that gentrification is another major impact. Again, while common impacts emerge, variation in perceptions between constituents and cases emerge as well.Finally, the study reveals that a number of influential organizational characteristics appear to affect perceptions of expansion impacts. They include university practices (such as communication and the use of the eminent domain), campus architecture, university leadership, student behavior, neighborhood demographics, and neighborhood history.