The Rise of the UniverCity

Columbia and New York University (NYU) are two of the biggest landholders on the island of Manhattan so large that, at one point, they were actually only surpassed by the Catholic Church. University of Southern California (USC) is the largest private employer in Los Angeles County. The University of Chicago fields one of the largest private security forces in the world, with jurisdiction over fifty thousand nonstudent residents on the city s south side. Yale University and its hospital make up one of New Haven s largest landholders, and Yale deploys a private armed security force with policing jurisdiction over the entire city.

So the physical and economic footprint can t be overstated. But I also think about footprint in terms of influence. The political authority of Columbia in West Harlem, NYU in Greenwich Village, Washington University in St. Louis, and Arizona State University (ASU) in downtown Phoenix are astounding. They have the ability to either flout or rewrite zoning laws and to shelter millions of public dollars on campus acres. Ultimately, we are witnessing higher education s gaining control over not just economic development but also urban governance, a process I call the rise of UniverCities.

via jacobinmag.com

Soon they’ll need their armies and air forces. They’ll be governed very progressively I bet.