5 Small City Anchor Institutions • Themes During the Co-Lab, four themes emerged about the role of meds and eds in small cities: Anchor Institution Reliance Hospitals and universities are anchor institutions in many smaller cities, providing employment and critical services, while influencing local spending and investment. Several participants emphasized that their communities would face serious hardship, or even struggle to survive, without these anchor institutions. Large, Tax-Exempt Footprint Universities and hospitals often have some of the largest and most valuable landholdings in small cities, much of it acquired during urban renewal. As tax-exempt nonprofits, they reduce the local tax base, while continued expansion increases housing demand and competes for developable land. Anchor Institution - Community Divide Anchor institutions often have a complicated relationship with surrounding communities. Participants described institutions as “out of touch” or failing to be “integrated or engaged,” with institutional priorities in opposition to community needs. This divide is reinforced by class and racial differences between those affiliated with the institution and neighboring residents. Governance Actors Beyond their economic role, meds and eds shape local governance and civic life through their engagement, or lack of it, with surrounding communities. In New Haven and Bethlehem, the relationship between institutions and local government stood out as a defining feature of city decision making. Participants described a desire to collaborate more effectively in local governance.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0OTQ5OA==