How are the changing dynamics of American urbanization impacting U.S. post-secondary education, and how can higher education institutions respond to and reshape America’s urban futures? In a recent article in New Directions for Community Colleges, Jean-Paul Addie argues surveying the major trends in American urban development is no simple task, either across or within city-regions. A diverse set of urban trajectories are unfolding across the nation. These present challenges and opportunities for higher education institutions whether they are located in growing centers of urban innovation or embedded within declining ‘left behind’ places. Focusing on three key lenses: economic shifts spurred by the rise of the knowledge economy; new metropolitan geographies from gentrifying inner cities to the suburbanization of race and poverty; and the intersection of (post-)pandemic futures and calls for racial justice, Addie paints a complex portrait of an urban America with diverse futures forged at the intersection of rising inequality, segregation, and a desire for a more inclusive and just development. He argues that while higher education institutions – notably community colleges – are valuable resources that can support knowledge creation, workforce development, and community cohesion, they must reappraise their institutional structures, pedagogical practices, and responsibilities as urban place-makers to adequately realize these ends.
To read more, see Addie, J.-P. D, 2024, America’s urban futures: In and beyond the city, New Directions for Community Colleges, 204 (Understanding the Complexities and Roles of Urban Community Colleges), 21-32.