The University and Urban Revival: Out of the Ivory Tower and into the Streets (review)

Over the last decade, a national movement has emerged to revive the civic missions of colleges and universities in the United States. While many institutions have used various terms to describe their expanding commitments to community (e.g., civic engagement, public engagement, community engagement), the signature elements are the same. That is, progressive university-community partnerships emphasize a two-way exchange of knowledge, information, and expertise for mutual benefit. Ultimately, the purpose of these partnerships is to develop the capacity of institutions and communities to address their region's most pressing social and economic problems.

In this context, Judith Rodin's book, The University and Urban Revival: Out of the Ivory Tower and into the Streets, provides a compelling examination of the University of Pennsylvania's efforts to facilitate urban revival in West Philadelphia. While a growing body of literature addresses university-community partnerships, Rodin's book is unique in that it examines such a partnership from the perspective of the university president who initiated and led such an effort for a decade (1994–2004).

Furthermore, Rodin's book chronicles not just one institution's journey toward neighborhood revitalization, but her personal journey as a citizen and leader of a world-class urban research university. Rodin, who grew up in Philadelphia, is informed by her multiple identities as a woman, mother, Penn alum, university president, and "hometown kid" as she describes herself in Chapter 1.

Rodin's work begins with a gripping prologue recounting the story of a Penn biochemist who was murdered while walking home from his campus office. The horrific crime sent shock waves throughout the entire city and was viewed as the "last straw" by many inside and outside of the Penn community. Rodin uses this story to provide context for her discussion about the decay of many American cities and the uneasy position occupied by many colleges and universities in these contentious settings.

In Chapter 3, Rodin articulates a heartbreaking history of the decline of the University City neighborhood near the west side of the Penn campus. Rodin explains that Penn, like many other urban institutions, unwittingly contributed to the decline of the neighborhood. Readers will observe that, in the early years, it was more appropriate to view Penn as "real estate shark" than Penn as "community partner" since the institution engaged in land acquisition practices based solely on furthering its own agenda. As Rodin explains, many viewed these practices as exploitative, creating deep resentment in the community.

Chapter 4 is especially informative for students of higher education leadership, governance, innovation, and change. Here Rodin discusses her strategy to create a more integrated approach to community development in an environment where resentment for the institution was deeply embedded. Rodin shares an interesting insight about the university's decision not to roll out a comprehensive master plan for redevelopment but rather launch a series of initiatives to be tested and adapted with the help of community partners. In addition, instead of creating a new organization to do community development, Penn built networks of organizations to take on varying revitalization tasks. Guided by this organizational strategy, Rodin articulates five goals from the West Philadelphia Initiatives: enhancing neighborhood safety, housing options, commercial activity, economic development, and public schools.

Chapters 5–8 in many ways read like a text on urban and regional planning. These chapters provide considerable detail about the complex relationship between Penn and urban commissions, neighborhood associations, community development corporations, real estate developers, nonprofit agencies, the retail industry, and public school districts. In this context, she discusses implications of these partnerships for Penn departments and programs (its Divisions of Public Safety, Residential Life, and Service Learning, the Graduate School of Education, and the Center for Community Partnerships). While the level of detail in these chapters is heavy in spots, it is also helpful because it appropriately illustrates higher education as part of a...