Today, universities serve as the economic engines and cultural centers
of many U.S. cities, but how did this come to be? In Building the Ivory
Tower, LaDale Winling traces the history of universities' relationship
to the American city, illuminating how they embraced their role as urban
developers throughout the twentieth century and what this legacy means
for contemporary higher education and urban policy.
In the twentieth century, the federal government funded growth and
redevelopment at American universities--through PWA construction
subsidies during the Great Depression, urban renewal funds at
mid-century, and loans for student housing in the 1960s. This federal
aid was complemented by financial support for enrollment and research,
including the GI Bill at the end of World War II and the National
Defense Education Act, created to educate scientists and engineers after
the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik. Federal support allowed
universities to implement new visions for campus space and urban life.
However, this growth often put these institutions in tension with
surrounding communities, intensifying social and economic inequality,
and advancing knowledge at the expense of neighbors.
Winling uses a series of case studies from the Progressive Era to the
present day and covers institutions across the country, from state
schools to the Ivy League. He explores how university builders and
administrators worked in concert with a variety of interests--including
the business community, philanthropists, and all levels of
government--to achieve their development goals. Even as concerned
citizens and grassroots organizers attempted to influence this process,
university builders tapped into the full range of policy and economic
tools to push forward their vision. Block by block, road by road,
building by building, they constructed carefully managed urban
institutions whose economic and political power endures to this day.
