Traits of college towns/cities

[Dan]

Nope, haven't been to Chico so I guess I can be wrong. Merced and other small college schools don't have a college town feel because there aren't many students living in the area. Any school under 10,000 students loses it's college feel. You have alot of students from the area and then a few out of the area.

You've got a good point. I think some of the things to look at in examining college towns are:

• The size of a college or university. There seems to be a critical mass for its influence on the host community.
• The ratio of the student body to the host community. Can a community of 25,000 residents be a "college town" if it hosts a small private liberal arts college with 1,000 students?
• The percentage of commuter students. More commuters = less surrounding college vibe.
• The character of the college. Communities hosting engineering, mining, and A&M-oriented schools (College Station/Texas A&M, Socorro/New Mexico Tech, etc) usually seem to have little or no college vibe. Institutions founded by very strict religious denominations also don't seem to foster a college vibe in the surrounding community.
• The campus location: urban, inner ring suburban, post-WWII suburb, rural town, etc.
• The type and design of the campus: traditional quad, late 20th century greenfield, office park style, integrated into the surrounding community with many exclaves, etc.
• Domination of the Greek system. Higher fraternity/sorority membership could mean there is less of a demand for an off-campus social scene.

[beach_bum]

I think college town's development depends on the population of students, size of the community and when the campus was built. For example, Gainesville, FL is a quintessential college town because, its in the middle of nowhere, campus built over one hundred years ago, and has many of those things described in this thread. Orlando, FL which has a university of even greater size has less of a traditional college town feel because the campus is only about fifty years old, it has a much larger area population and the university developed much of the infrastructure instead of a more organic expansion.

I currently live in the triangle, which has three universities, all in different communities. Of the three, unc-chapel hill is in the most college town-feeling area. NC State in Raleigh and Duke in Durham have nice areas around the campuses that feel college-y but they don't expand far past.

[Richmond Jake]

I've said this before, UCSC is a Cal wannabe without the sense of humor. Santa Cruz will never live up to Berkeley. Santa Cruz takes itself too seriously.

And the mall in Capitola sucks. Sorry, Capitola.

[illinoisplanner]

I also see some college towns meeting what would be considered an almost "perfect city".

The things I listed as perfect are:
low crime
low poverty
affordible housing
many jobs
bike able
live/shop/work downtown or a lifestyle center
natural food markets
rock concerts-music scene
plays, symphonies-cultural scene
not over populated
mix of regional and local and national chains
strong bus system
less traffic to reduce smog

The bolded items are certainly not the case in the town where I went to college, and I would say that the poverty/crime thing is especially true in college towns with state schools that aren't flagships. Oftentimes, I think this may be because a state school may often draw low-income students (through grants and other such programs) who can't afford the more prestigious universities. And if these students don't graduate, they will often stick around because college towns are usually pretty affordable and even if they do graduate, they may not be able to find a job right away, and so they are kind of living in poverty then. If they happened to have kids along the way, it makes the poverty situation even worse. Also, with so many young people, you are bound to find a few bad apples, which can contribute to crime. Drugs, gangs, fights, thefts, and muggings were not uncommon in my college town.

[urban19]

The bolded items are certainly not the case in the town where I went to college, and I would say that the poverty/crime thing is especially true in college towns with state schools that aren't flagships. Oftentimes, I think this may be because a state school may often draw low-income students (through grants and other such programs) who can't afford the more prestigious universities. And if these students don't graduate, they will often stick around because college towns are usually pretty affordable and even if they do graduate, they may not be able to find a job right away, and so they are kind of living in poverty then. If they happened to have kids along the way, it makes the poverty situation even worse. Also, with so many young people, you are bound to find a few bad apples, which can contribute to crime. Drugs, gangs, fights, thefts, and muggings were not uncommon in my college town.

I have heard of more rape incidents and low-income college students committing crimes. It is really sad. As for gangs, not much in my area because you don't see alot of lower-income minorities living in the area. Fights-yes. Drugs-def yes and all sorts of them. Muggings-more from the homeless.

You've got a good point. I think some of the things to look at in examining college towns are:

• The size of a college or university. There seems to be a critical mass for its influence on the host community.
• The ratio of the student body to the host community. Can a community of 25,000 residents be a "college town" if it hosts a small private liberal arts college with 1,000 students?
• The percentage of commuter students. More commuters = less surrounding college vibe.
• The character of the college. Communities hosting engineering, mining, and A&M-oriented schools (College Station/Texas A&M, Socorro/New Mexico Tech, etc) usually seem to have little or no college vibe. Institutions founded by very strict religious denominations also don't seem to foster a college vibe in the surrounding community.
• The campus location: urban, inner ring suburban, post-WWII suburb, rural town, etc.
• The type and design of the campus: traditional quad, late 20th century greenfield, office park style, integrated into the surrounding community with many exclaves, etc.
• Domination of the Greek system. Higher fraternity/sorority membership could mean there is less of a demand for an off-campus social scene.

I think UC Davis fell under the last bullet. Large greek system and also location has alot to play into it. Also, for the school I started at in LA I saw it was already developed as a WW2 suburb area and so no space for a college town feel and it's mostly a commuter school. The best the area did was allow for many college students to live in homes together, but they do have a very strong police and presence keeping a close eye on where the dorms live to see if they haze. And that college has shut down frats over hazing.

[DetroitPlanner]

We have all the main car dealerships in San Luis Obispo-Toyota and Scion/Ford, Mercury, and Mustang/Hyundai/Subaru/Chevron/Chevrolet/Buick and GMC/Mazda. I might be missing some. Toyota can be find in even in some of the smallest communities in California including Ridgecrest which has about 10,000 population.

I was amazed by how much market share Toyota had in CA, that definitely not like that anywhere else I've been. Toyota/Scion/Lexus probably had 50 percent of the market share in Orange and San Diego. Sorry about the tangent. Most of the college students here drive old sedans or take the bus.

[RPfresh]

I've said this before, UCSC is a Cal wannabe without the sense of humor. Santa Cruz will never live up to Berkeley. Santa Cruz takes itself too seriously.

And the mall in Capitola sucks. Sorry, Capitola.

All true. And Capitola does suck.

[urban19]

So college towns have alot of bars and different types of bars. Like what are some different types of bars?

I can think of an irish pub, bar and grill, modern bars, dive bars, wine shops, jazz club and bar, dance club and bar, and no others I can think of. Honky-tonk and townie?

[illinoisplanner]

So college towns have alot of bars and different types of bars. Like what are some different types of bars?

I can think of an irish pub, bar and grill, modern bars, dive bars, wine shops, jazz club and bar, dance club and bar, and no others I can think of. Honky-tonk and townie?

In my Midwestern college town, we had:
Irish Pub
Bar and Grill (quite a few of these)
Dance Club and Bar (quite a few of these, always popular with the frats and the pretentious crowd; regular people like me tended to avoid them)
Mexican restaurants with bar where lots of people went primarily to drink (quite a few of these)
Buffalo Wild Wings
Dive Bars (quite a few of these)
Dive Bar that also functioned as a dance club and regularly featured live music (popular with the arty, hipster crowd; regular people would also go there)
Honky-Tonk/Country-themed bar (just opened up; also serves food)
Townie Bars (a couple of these, but they're usually just bar and grills that are popular with the locals)
Sports-Themed Bars (places named MVPs, Upper Deck, etc.)
Winery/Wine Bar (just opened up; located about 10 miles east of town in a rural area)
Bars that also specialized in serving pizza (a couple of these...one was also a dive bar; the other was kind of like a sports bar)

[DetroitPlanner]

Bars by my Campus were full of hookers and vietnam vets.

We had no chain bars or irish bars.

Names included: The Bronx, Circas, Z's, Jumbos, Third Street, Tappers, Old Miami, Union Street (on Woodward Ave) and the Venerable Garden Bowl. Many of these were still around when another planner who posts here went there.

[H]

I have always thought the placement of Greek housing in a collge town/city interesting. Some colleges have a highly planned clustered areas (aka Fraternity / Sorority Rows); some are seemingly randomly settled where they may; and other school's have a mixture (with a main row with many houses in a line, and then other houses spread around campus/town).

As one currently living in a college town, a former "frat guy" myself, and a planner, I am not sure of my opinion on how these should be placed within a college town...
All I know is I once lived in one, but now I no longer want to live anywhere near one!

[MsSanora]

There are also a lot of social services available. My university has a Planned Parenthood, a Rape and Abuse center and a counseling service within a half mile radius of each other.

[Rygor]

Yes, you get a lot of community groups, many of which cater to the student population. Lots of Christian Centers, Jewish Centers, a variety of religious institutions in general, plus your not-for-profit service groups, food co-ops, etc. There is a local Independent Media Center that is active in my town that has it's own independent radio station, hosts concerts and artists, runs a Books for Prisoners program, has a bike advocacy group, and puts out a monthly newsletter.

[stroskey]

Speaking of bars, what is the difference between and "Irish Pub" and a "bar"? Can they be used interchangeably?

[illinoisplanner]

Speaking of bars, what is the difference between and "Irish Pub" and a "bar"? Can they be used interchangeably?

No, to me, "bar" is more of an umbrella term for a lot of different places, like sports bars, dive bars, townie bars, etc. To me, most bars usually cater more to the working class demographic.

"Irish Pub" is used for restaurants or bars that have an Irish theme, such as an Irish name, specialize in Irish beers/dark beers like Guinness, and will also typically feature a full restaurant menu. Some may even have their own on-site brewery. They are popular among beer connosseuirs. They are typically more upscale than your average bar and are usually popular among a wealthier middle or upper middle class demographic. They are incredibly popular on St. Patrick's Day. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_p..._North_America

[Rygor]

Irish Pub:

-Irish name such as "Murphy's" or "Timothy O'Toole's"
-Lots of wood decor, sometimes with lots of names, etc. scratched in tables
-Copious amounts of Guiness, Smythwick's, Beamish, Killian's, etc.
-Sometimes some sort of irish music playing (optional)
-"True" Irish pubs are actually authentic, painstakingly rebuilt versions of original irish pubs with materials brought from Ireland

[biscuit]

It seems that the development patterns of the stereotypical college town can be attributed to three main characteristics:
1) Size of the student body in proportion to the local population. A student body of 3,000 in a town of 18,000 is not going to have the same impact as say Penn State University which has a student population of 45,000 in a borough of 38,000.

2) The percentage of commuter students, as Dan pointed out. Most on-campus students do not have cars meaning that businesses that services the student body need to be walkable from campus. Additionally, you can't build a cohesive campus life if most students are driving in for the day.

3) Age of the campus. Older schools will have more traditional development patterns in the off-campus commercial areas that lend to the "college feel."

Places like Ithaca, NY, Clemson, SC, State College, etc..., come to mind when I think about what college towns look like.

[stroskey]

Why are community colleges mostly suburban-style buildings surrounded by parking? I've lived near four in my life and they're all the same... I understand you may have a different student population but are there any out there that look more like a regular college?

[Cismontane]

I am curious why UCSD - a residential university with 30,000 students first opened in 1959 - completely lacks a college town. I mean, there are a couple of strip malls off Villa La Jolla, about 1/4 of a mile south of the Gilman gate, and then there's UTC - a tony regional mall and a smaller strip mall across the street from it - about 1/2 miles away.. then there's the Price student center and food court - but otherwise no collegy street.

Only thing I can gather is that Euclidean zoning completely precluded development of a college retail street. I mean, you have the entire district beyond the college built out at between 30 and 120 housing units an acre (actually, there are four blocks that hit 200+).. literally four miles square of perimeter blocks punctuated by 20 story residential towers... and no zoned neighborhood retail to speak of (outside of the aforementioned strip malls), no convenience stores, no corner shops, no pedestrian amenities other than those ridiculous pedestrian bridges near Genesee. The entire area is proof that density does not equate to livability - or rather that shoddy zoning and land-use policies can cause an area with the density of Brooklyn to have the pedestrian friendliness of an outer 'burb of Houston. I'm embarassed I'm a planner every time I drive through that area.. emphasis on the "drive" since there's no other possible form of egress.

I know that the MTS blue line extension will bring the trolley up to that neighborhood. I hope they provide for masive park and ride facilities 'cause there'll be no way to walk to the stations even if you live right next to 'em. Forget the quarter mile rule - nobody will walk 200 feet under those conditions.

[Cismontane]

It seems that the development patterns of the stereotypical college town can be attributed to three main characteristics:

Plus, the zoning systems to support the desired type of development. If the area aruond the college is zoned only for mcmansions, then you won't get your college-oriented retail strip no matter what the demand for it from college students.

[urban19]

I am curious why UCSD - a residential university with 30,000 students first opened in 1959 - completely lacks a college town. I mean, there are a couple of strip malls off Villa La Jolla, about 1/4 of a mile south of the Gilman gate, and then there's UTC - a tony regional mall and a smaller strip mall across the street from it - about 1/2 miles away.. then there's the Price student center and food court - but otherwise no collegy street.

Only thing I can gather is that Euclidean zoning completely precluded development of a college retail street. I mean, you have the entire district beyond the college built out at between 30 and 120 housing units an acre (actually, there are four blocks that hit 200+).. literally four miles square of perimeter blocks punctuated by 20 story residential towers... and no zoned neighborhood retail to speak of (outside of the aforementioned strip malls), no convenience stores, no corner shops, no pedestrian amenities other than those ridiculous pedestrian bridges near Genesee. The entire area is proof that density does not equate to livability - or rather that shoddy zoning and land-use policies can cause an area with the density of Brooklyn to have the pedestrian friendliness of an outer 'burb of Houston. I'm embarassed I'm a planner every time I drive through that area.. emphasis on the "drive" since there's no other possible form of egress.

I know that the MTS blue line extension will bring the trolley up to that neighborhood. I hope they provide for masive park and ride facilities 'cause there'll be no way to walk to the stations even if you live right next to 'em. Forget the quarter mile rule - nobody will walk 200 feet under those conditions.

UCSD has stuff to do for college students along the beach, but that college would fall under a college in a larger city. The city is too big to have a college town feel. It's like UCLA, CSU Northridge, CSU LA, and USC. They all don't have college town feels because they are within LA. They are things to do for college aged people around UCLA and USC like in Echo Park or some parts of Westwood. Pomona doesn't even have a college feel since it's mostly commuters.

[Dan]

Why are community colleges mostly suburban-style buildings surrounded by parking? I've lived near four in my life and they're all the same... I understand you may have a different student population but are there any out there that look more like a regular college?

The boom years for the emergence of community colleges was in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, when traditional campus planning was out of vogue. New four-year university campuses that were built during those eras (University at Buffalo/Amherst, York University, Brock University, RIT, Valparaiso University, and Ursuline College come to mind) also eschew the traditional collegiate quad layout. Buffalo State College, where the majority of buildings were built in the 1960s, seems like an exception; the architecture is awful, but the layout is very traditional, complete with a central quad surrounded by the administration building, library, student union and main lecture hall.

[Linda_D]

The boom years for the emergence of community colleges was in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, when traditional campus planning was out of vogue. New four-year university campuses that were built during those eras (University at Buffalo/Amherst, York University, Brock University, RIT, Valparaiso University, and Ursuline College come to mind) also eschew the traditional collegiate quad layout. Buffalo State College, where the majority of buildings were built in the 1960s, seems like an exception; the architecture is awful, but the layout is very traditional, complete with a central quad surrounded by the administration building, library, student union and main lecture hall.

SUNY Albany's main campus, also from this era, fits with SUNY Buffalo/Amherst. It always reminded me of psuedo-Moorish architecture only devoid of ornamentation. It's sort of a quad configuration in that there are 4 of these pillared behemoths containing classrooms, libraries, offices, etc.

I think the SUNY state colleges didn't get the design "geniuses" who worked on the SUNY university campuses and are better for it. Even if the architecture is mediocre, it's at least functional. You don't need a building schematic/road map to get you from the SU cafeteria to the library!

SUNY/Amherst, OTOH, is an abomination, from the huge academic core buildings to the tundra parking lots to the dorm buildings that look somewhat like castles from a distance but which are totally dysfunctional within (as in, literally, you can NOT get from Point A to Point B (which you can see out the window) without going up three flights, over two corridors, and down four flights) -- unless you can find a door outside and walk around most of the bulk of the building to find an entrance.

[Cismontane]

UCSD has stuff to do for college students along the beach, but that college would fall under a college in a larger city. The city is too big to have a college town feel. It's like UCLA, CSU Northridge, CSU LA, and USC. They all don't have college town feels because they are within LA. They are things to do for college aged people around UCLA and USC like in Echo Park or some parts of Westwood. Pomona doesn't even have a college feel since it's mostly commuters.

I guess I'm extending the concept of a "college town" to a retail street with student serving businesses. Berkeley has this, Stanford (in Palo Alto), USC, UCLA... UCSD is a key exception - only the two strip malls.

There's also no beach retail in the area either. There are four or five shops at LJ Shores, but they're very upscale and about 2 miles away.. otherwise you have to the Prospect distrct, 4 miles SW or to Del mar 6 miles N.

[Linda_D]

Jamestown Community College's Jamestown and Olean campuses have pretty traditional quads now.

The Jamestown campus has been developed over the last fifty years, and as buildings were added, the idea of creating a central meeting space has been a part of the campus plan. The quad plan is somewhat compromised by the need to provide for flood control as there's a small creek running through the heart of the campus, so in addition to the central gather area, there's a large pond. It's does give the campus a much more "traditional" look than most CCs in NYS have.

The Olean campus is new since about 2003, and it was intentionally built around a large central quad. It is also a "downtown" campus that butts up to one of the main drags in Olean. The college uses the local YMCA gym facilities for phys ed classes and for athletics, so the campus is physically a part of downtown.

Here's a link that shows some pix of the campus in the slide show: http://www.sunyjcc.edu/