Universities do more than teach classes; they can help transform economies and elevate cities to greatness. UC San Diego is banking on it.
Last year, UC San Diego announced it was launching a downtown hub that would be an active partner in transforming San Diego into a hub for the innovation economy.
In fact, according to UCSD Extension Dean and sociologist Dr. Mary Walshok, in the 21st century, universities and research institutions are crucial components to making any city great.
At CityAge: Build the Future, Walshok explained that universities can make cities "magnets" for public and private investment. And the research dollars that universities attract make them natural hubs for talent in all different fields, as well as constant sources of experimentation and innovation in a diverse set of industries.
Great cities have to continuously recalibrate, renew, and reinvent themselves in response to ever-changing demographic, technological, economic, and global imperatives … Without a center or centers of intellectual capital that are actively engaged in understanding and helping to navigate the multiple factors shaping regional futures, big cities—like Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, or Portland—cannot become great cities.
In addition to teaching languages, providing executive education, and hosting conventions and festivals, the new UC San Diego Urban will help incubate and scale new businesses in order to strengthen diverse economic clusters and build up an innovation ecosystem.
Dr. Walshok's talk is excerpted in The Planning Report.
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