ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS

Overview

Anchor institutions, including universities, medical complexes, arts and culture institutions, stadiums, public utilities and some large corporations, are critical to the economic health and civic pride to their home cities and regions due to their resources, especially high levels of employment and purchasing power. Their significant location-based real estate investments and/or clientele anchor them in place, making their departure unlikely or difficult. As a class and singly, they play central roles in their communities.

An incipient body of knowledge is emerging to document these roles. This work comes from disparate sources – academic studies, consultants’ reports, assessments by anchor institution executives, public officials and financiers – but no one has brought the studies together in a comprehensive fashion where they can be evaluated and replicated. Further, there are significant gaps in information about anchor institutions among public and private sector leaders.

For a full article on anchor institutions, click here.

Urban Anchors in the 21st Century: A Commitment to Place, Growth, and Community

Sponsored by Penn Institute for Urban Research, The Great Cities Institute, University of Illinois, Chicago, Bank of America and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, this conference will provide a focal point to launch ongoing study and dialogue around anchor institutions and their performance in metropolitan areas. The conference objectives are to heighten understanding of the roles of anchor institutions in the urban arena; increase dialogue about anchor institutions among the key actors in urban growth and development; isolate areas for additional research and “best practices” exchanges among anchors and their home cities; and to develop an action agenda for engaging anchor institutions as critical partners in urban policy and practice.

• ABOUT
• AGENDA
• BIOGRAPHIES (A-C / D-L / M-R / S-Z)
• PHOTOS
• SPONSORS

Moving Ahead

An important goal of the organizing committee for the Urban Anchors in the 21st Century, A Commitment to Place, Growth and Community, was to stimulate ongoing anchor- institution-related activities. The list below represents current and future efforts, ensuring that the energy of this conference and those that preceded it will continue.

Penn IUR

Penn IUR is pursuing three initiatives to enhance practice-based knowledge, the education of current and future leaders and formulation of enlightened public policy related to anchor institutions. They are:

• PENN ROUNDTABLE ON ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS (PRAI)
• LIVINGSTON CASES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT
• CITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY SERIES

Partner Organizations

• THE AMERICAN ASSEMBLY
• ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY'S PHOENIX URBAN RESEARCH LABORATORY
• BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
• BARBARA AND EDWARD NETTER CENTER FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
• CEOS FOR CITIES
• THE LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY
• PARTNERS FOR LIVABLE COMMUNITIES
• POLICYLINK
• ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION'S NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT

Other Initiatives

• LINKING MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENTS TO ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS (Widener University, Chester City, PA; February 22, 2008)