Public participation and the Third Mission in university-affiliated urban development projects: a study of The Ohio State University
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Date
2025-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Universities have emerged as powerful urban actors. Beyond their traditional roles in education and research, they now actively contribute to real estate development and community engagement, a set of activities scholars refer to as the university’s ‘Third Mission.’ This thesis examines the presence of public participation processes in university-affiliated urban development projects in the context of university Third Mission goals: social engagement, technology transfer and innovation, and external education. This research applies Archon Fung’s Democracy Cube framework to analyze participatory processes in three distinct development projects affiliated with The Ohio State University: The African American & African Studies Community Extension Center, the Energy Advancement and Innovation Center, and the Metro@Indianola School. Through document analysis and qualitative interpretation, this study examines the types of participation employed, who was involved, and how decisions were communicated in association with each project’s Third Mission goal. Findings reveal that while OSU incorporates participatory elements across projects regardless of the associated Third Mission goal, these are often advisory in nature, with decision-making authority largely retained by the university administrators. The results also underscore the absence of more inclusive and empowered forms of engagement, particularly for projects with broad social impacts. This research contributes to the growing discourse on university-led urban development, offering insights into how planners and university administrators can better understand the motivations behind public participation to promote more collaborative and mutually beneficial development practices.
Description
This thesis won the 2025 Jennifer Evans-Cowley Award for best undergradute thesis in City and Regional Planning
Keywords
Public Participation, Universities, City Planning, Third Mission