Tag Archives: cities

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Where do good ideas come from?

What types of organizations and spaces lead to creativity and innovation? This is a fundamental question that higher education institutions confront on a continual basis. I recently finished reading Steven Johnson’s Where Good Ideas Come From:  The Natural History of Innovation. He presents several thought provoking ideas that I believe can prove useful for thinking about higher education’s role in supporting innovation, creativity, and new ideas.

Johnson seeks an answer to the basic question of what types of spaces have historically supported creativity and innovation.

Much of his work draws from an environmental perspective using key notions from biology, ecology, and other related fields to understand innovations.

Three ideas from the book strike me as particularly important for those of us in higher education.

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Cities, geography, and universities: Need for research

Throughout history, the world’s great cities have been hubs of innovation and creativity. From the earliest communities through modern day, cities have been built by and for a great variety of societies. Additionally, universities prove to be inherently stable organizations even during times of economic downturn. This stability makes universities useful institutions around which to develop economic strategies; city leaders can rely on the financial steadiness of universities even during poor economic situations (Goddard et al., 2014). Future research can help the field better understand the various ways large metropolitan cities and universities interact as mitigated by history, context, and culture. This information will not only improve practice and policy, but also expand the understanding of the role of universities in supporting the social and economic development of cities.

Photo credit: Queens College

Higher education policy is inherently jurisdictional.

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Universities as anchor institutions in cities

Universities can play a significant role in the long-term success of their cities.  While universities may have once been called unengaged ivory towers, today, universities participate as active stakeholders in their communities.  Given the knowledge economy, universities can serve a vital role in improving the economic and social status of cities.  In today’s post, I want to describe the role of universities as anchor institutions and how they can benefit urban regions.

Photo credit: SMU

The scholarly literature describes universities (and hospitals) as anchor institutions, meaning stable organizations upon which to base development efforts.

Anchor institutions are like large department stores in a mall.  The serve as a key driver of people and activity.

Universities possess all the characteristics of anchor institutions.