Publication Date: March 21, 2023
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN: 9781421446271
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56021/9781421446288

Purchasing Information

The remote work revolution presents a unique opportunity for higher education institutions to reinvent themselves and become talent magnets.

In Knowledge Towns, David J. Staley and Dominic D. J. Endicott argue that the location of a college or university is a necessary piece of any region's effort to attract remote knowledge workers and accelerate economic development and creative placemaking. Just as every town expects a church, bank branch, post office, and coffeehouse, Staley and Endicott write, we will see a decentralized network of institutions of higher education flourish, acting as cornerstones for the post-pandemic rebuilding of our society and economy.

In calling for a "college in any town," they are not simply proposing placing a traditional college within a town or city, but envisioning instead a particular kind of higher education institution called a "knowledge enterprise." In addition to providing the services of a traditional college, a knowledge enterprise acts as a talent magnet, attracting workers looking to move to cheaper and more attractive destinations.

With the post-COVID-19 shift to more remote work, and millions of people moving to more affordable and livable cities, a place that wants to attract talent will require a thriving academic environment. This represents a new opportunity for "town and gown" to create collaborative communities. The pandemic has accelerated existing trends that put at risk the viability of many colleges and universities, as well as that of many towns and cities. The talent magnet strategy outlined in this book offers colleges and towns a plan of action for regeneration.

Reviews

Fifty years after urban theorist Kevin Lynch advocated 'universal learning' as critical to forming the 'Good City,' Staley and Endicott lay out a roadmap to achieving this vision in our post-pandemic world. They argue that the shift to remote work, migration away from large, high-cost cities, and growing demands for cloud-based learning will usher in a renaissance of small locations, where a new generation of micro-colleges and training academies can attract talent and urban reinvestment. Knowledge Towns will be welcomed by protagonists of town-gown development across the US.

— Dennis Frenchman, MIT School of Architecture + Planning

Staley and Endicott issue a striking call to action for American communities to take advantage of the major demographic changes spurred by the pandemic to reignite stagnant or shrinking economies and build new prosperity. To seize opportunity, communities must work on gaining broadband connectivity, building the innovation capacity of their employers, and becoming knowledge magnets through partnership with education. Knowledge Towns lays out the path.

— Robert Bell, Cofounder, Intelligent Community Forum

Knowledge Towns is masterful. It is well-researched, persuasive, and prescient, painting an exciting symbiotic role for a reimagined higher education enterprise. It reframes the town-gown construct as an ecosystem of community, local businesses, regional government, and colleges that collectively serves as a 'knowledge enterprise' to attract talent, develop human potential, and strategically grow the well-being of their community.

— Stephen Lehmkuhle, Chancellor Emeritus, University of Minnesota Rochester, author of Campus With Purpose: Building a Mission-Driven Campus

This book develops powerful arguments and findings in urban regeneration. It reveals the critical role for colleges and universities to play in the new economy. A must-read for investors and policymakers in this critical area for economics and venture investing.

— John Cummins, Managing Director, AVIVA Capital Partners

Knowledge Towns lays out a compelling and eminently practical vision of a new symbiosis between higher education and communities of all shapes and sizes. It is an innovation roadmap for revitalizing people, institutions, and our society that should appeal to everyone.

— Robert Gehorsam, college trustee