Whilst universities are seen as vehicles for innovation and progress, they are also perpetrators of social exclusion and urban inequality. This was the main message during the LunchTalk of professor Davarian Baldwin (Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies, Hartford, CT) hosted by the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for BOLD Cities on Tuesday, June 3rd. During an engaging and challenging talk, prof. Baldwin not only questioned dominant narratives and practices of universities but also offered solutions on how to create a city that is smart for everyone.
Universities as the new factories
Prof. Baldwin, author of In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities, starts off strong by challenging us to shift our perception of institutions of higher education. Universities are commonly seen as the engines for smart solutions, but they are also essential to shaping urban inequality. In the knowledge economy, according to prof. Baldwin, universities mirror the influence once held by factories in the industrial society. Similar to when factories arrived in cities, universities currently raise housing costs and set wage ceilings for the region. They hold strong economic power, owning real estate, providing healthcare, and offering labour opportunities. In this process, however, they exclude the long-standing communities of these cities. Simultaneously, these communities have limited opportunities to counter these developments via the democratic route.
Smartness must be humanised
With his Smart Cities Research Lab, prof. Baldwin redirects the approach these institutions have towards their local communities. At the core of all the lab’s activities are people, not just data. Through partnering with local initiatives, the lab explores how urban development and data-driven governance impact real lives.
True smart cities develop without the displacement of their original communities.
For example, in New Haven, the lab collaborates with local labour unions, city officials, and residents to challenge the influence of Yale University in the city. The institute pays no property taxes due to its nonprofit status, yet holds billions of dollars in endowment. The result is that local public schools that are accessible to the community are underfunded.
Due to the partnership between the lab and local stakeholders, Yale University now contributes 50 million dollars to the budget of the city of New Haven. A victory that prof. Baldwin credits to ‘nerdy academics doing data justice’.
Development without displacement
A recurring mantra during prof. Baldwin’s talk is that true smart cities develop without the displacement of their original communities. Local residents welcome development too. They enjoy signs of innovation and progress like libraries, theatres, educational institutions, and Wi-Fi. However, these developments often become signifiers for citizens that aggressive processes of gentrification are on the horizon.
The lab’s work focuses on initiatives that bridge the academic world with the outside world to ensure developments towards a smart city benefit existing residents rather than pushing them out.
Call to action
Thus, prof. Baldwin leaves his audience with a compelling plea for activist academics. Academics must act as partners in justice, not just as mere observers. Only by making sincere efforts to translate academic knowledge to usable tools for citizens and by serving their interests, can social impact through academic work be achieved.
“We are embedded. We are biased. We are undisciplined. And we are proud of it,” he concludes, calling on universities to fundamentally rethink their role in society.