Geddes Institute PhD Seminar SeriesThursday 27 October, 2005

The Social Re-construction of University Real Estate

Deborah Peel d.peel@dundee.ac.uk

The Geddes Institute, University of Dundee

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Quality Varsity Estate

An institution’s estate is one of its most valuable assets. On average, 12 percent of its income will be used on the estate.

The ‘look and feel’ of the estate has a major bearing on the perceptions of the institution as a whole, by staff, students, and commercial and local stakeholders.

– (Higher Education Funding Council for England, 2000 p 5).

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Overview

1. Following (Giddens, 1998), the presentation traces the social re-construction of the role of varsity real estate during the:

– social democratic, – neo-liberal, and – Third Way periods.

2. Examine the evolving importance of university real estate strategies in a climate of discontinuous change.

3. Identify emerging issues for the research.

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Social Constructionism

Gramsci (1971): struggles over meaning are as important as practical struggles

Social constructionism is concerned with how meaning is negotiated and constructed by:

– culture, – history, and – context.

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Varsity Real EstateA Political Economy Perspective

Social Democratic Era (1945-1979)– Thesis of market failure, state intervention and public expenditure– Higher education - Expansion of student numbers– Passive attitude to varsity real estate

Neo-liberal Era (1979-1997)– Antithesis of government failure, market emphasis and property, rethinking public sector – Higher education – restructuring - assimilation of polytechnics– Growing awareness of the importance of varsity real estate – 1992 real estate strategies

Third Way Era (1997-)– Synthesis of previous thinking, public-private partnerships, modernisation of public

services and the use and management of resources– Higher education – Social justice and widening participation– Active attitude to varsity real estate - 1999 Estate Management Statistics – ‘centralised

and authoritative picture of the size, characteristics and associated costs of operation of [university] estates’

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Influences on Estate Strategy Development

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Master-planning and Star Architecture

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Campus Planning

Key

11. Belmont Halls of Residence

22. Heathfield Halls of Residence

3 3. Teaching Block

44. Queen Mother Research Centre

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5. Centre for Interdisciplinary Research

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City Planning

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Emerging Issues

As a predominantly public sector activity, varsity real estate is constrained by the particular political economic context.

Contemporary Third Way thinking is highly influential with respect to the language and activities of the higher education sector.

The centralising demands of the funding councils for universities requires real estate data to be collated and presented in similar ways.

The profile of varsity real estate is now central to university corporate management and strategic thinking.

Local contexts and market situations, however, suggest that Scottish universities are responding in different ways.

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Re-thinking Town and Gown

The University is a protagonist in local governance and the promotion of the local and regional economy.

An acknowledgement that town and gown mutually benefit from partnership:

– retention of researchers, graduates and faculty;– physical development of the varsity fabric;– growth and commercialisation of varsity activities;– provision of street-level activities and partnership projects;– pursuit of clusters (biotechnology and medical),– promotion of city image and inward investment; – interaction of commercial, leisure, entertainment, tourism, and– provision of cultural and community facilities.

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Implications for the Conceptualisation of the Research

Social constructionism offers a theoretical and contextual framework for interrogating contested ideas – such as the role of the university in a modern (knowledge) economy

Following Hannigan (1995) this highlights the significance of paying attention to:

– Evidence base of the problem– Use of the media – Dramatisation– Popularisers– Economic incentives to initiate behaviour– Institutional sponsor to legitimise change