Universities’ Urban Impact in the Neoliberal Context

The role of higher education institutions in contributing to urban development and global evolution of knowledge economy is now well-recognized. In the global knowledge-intensive world, knowledge is regarded as a valuable property and an important mean of power. Universities’ impact has been altered with new missions (specifically third mission activities) they have accepted in congruence with globalization and neoliberal policies toward marketization of knowledge in higher education system. Universities as large urban institutions are key actors in the global growth of knowledge economy that stimulate development of their host urban spaces. They function as knowledge enterprises in the neoliberal context that nurture the intellectual and human capital required for the knowledge-based economy. Through being entrepreneurial entities, universities attempt to increase their competence in the redevelopment activities and address the challenges of their societies. It is facilitated through establishing coalitions with government, industry and other stakeholders. These cooperative initiatives between university and city reinforces the status of both university and the host city in the global economy in one hand and contributes to the socio-economic development of the region. In this respect, this chapter focuses on universities as principal agents engaging in re-development activities in the neoliberal context and portrays universities as collaborative and entrepreneurial entities that embrace the regional development responsibility. The chapter starts with the specific features of the neoliberal context and follows with investigation of the structures that reinforce the expansion and engagement policies of universities in the neoliberal context. It describes impact of higher education institutions on changing global geography and marketization of urban space within knowledge economy incentives and underpins the importance of their third mission on restructuring and redevelopment of the regional and global urban space.