Creative City Agenda Policy Adoption within Higher Education Campus Plans

Rebecca Kemper (Ohio State University)

The adoption of the creative city agenda has been swift and global, viewed both as a celebrated and disparaged strategy the literature (Bennett, 2014; Peck, 2005; Pratt, 2011). Fueling this trend is an intense competition for knowledge economy workers in our global economy. Higher education institutions have been affected by this competition for human capital and may be functioning as creative cities by adopting this agenda within their infrastructure redevelopment plans (Bonacchi, 2017).

This research analyzed campus plans for creative city agenda adoption. Criteria for the sample included Ohio public higher education institutions offering four-year degree tracks and having a publicly-accessible, substantial campus plan over ten pages in length. This resulted in a sample of 10 higher education institutions from a base population of 96 colleges and universities within Ohio. Creative city agenda themes were derived from the literature and were scored one point for having the theme and two points for having the theme along with an implementation strategy, in keeping with other city planning assessment research (Conroy & Jun, 2016; Evans, 2009). Results were suggestive that the Ohio higher education institutions are adopting the creative city agenda within their campus planning efforts. However, research has suggested a strong correlation with the adoption of the creative city agenda and rising economic inequality within urban areas. Results of this case study analysis are framed within a larger social justice lens with equity issues concerning on and off-campus residential affordability.