University-community relations and the need for a representational discourse : exploring town-gown at the University of Pennsylvania

This thesis examines university-community relations, arguing that the current discourse requires rigorous theoretical attention to the use of representation in media and in physical design to adequately gauge and understand this relationship. Modeled after Naomi Carmon's framework of urban redevelopment, the author provides a new framework for understanding eras of university-community partnerships. Then, the author synthesizes a series of theoretical constructs to develop the representational discourse, to be used in a more rigorous analysis of university-community relationships. Drawing on John Gaventa's framework of power, the study closely examines the University of Pennsylvania and analyzes the University's use of imaging, narrative, and other forms of representation since the 1960s as a way to ensure and perpetuate its dominance. Ultimately, this thesis seeks to inform the ever-evolving discourse around neighborhood change in relation to "anchor institutions," and offers recommendations for points of intervention on the part of communities, planning practitioners, university officials, and theoreticians.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Bierbaum, Ariel H. (Ariel Hope)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lawrence Vale.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/33017

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/33017