Metropolitan Universities Journal Shared Spaces Issue Released

Volume 27, Issue 3 of Metropolitan Universities, entitled Campus and Community in Shared Spaces, is now available online. This latest issue focuses on the impact of shared learning spaces on communities and what approaches higher education institutions have taken to promote “shared space for shared work.”

“There is growing attention to the role that physical and practical spaces play in our interactions with communities particularly as we work to deepen those interactions and search for effective approaches to urban opportunities and challenges,” says guest editor Heidi Lasley Barajas of the University of Minnesota in her introduction to the issue.

The issue in particular highlights the work of universities internationally to create strong partnerships that benefit both the universities and their surrounding communities. With academic institutions around the world providing educational resources to their neighbors, urban and metropolitan universities will be able to extend opportunities to their communities to help solve pressing issues.

Authors featured in the issue discuss their experiences creating and maintaining particular outreach centers and community engagement programs.

  1. The Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP) at the University of Brighton is one such program that has served the University of Brighton’s campuses and their communities since its inception in 2003.
  2. The York University-TD Community Engagement Centre promotes collaboration between York University in Toronto, Ontario, and academic initiatives in the surrounding Black Creek community.
  3. The University of Minnesota and the North Minneapolis community benefit from the partnerships forged and research produced at the Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center.
  4. The UBC Learning Exchange is a learning hub where members of the community and the university exchange experience and expertise.
  5. The University of Nebraska Omaha’s Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center provides access to the university’s campus events and services for community members.

Other partnerships highlighted in the journal include partnerships benefitting correctional institutions, educators, and a local Hispanic population, as well as the connection between improving schools and improving neighborhoods.

With collaboration at the forefront of this issue, it is our hope that after reading the journal you will join the conversation on Twitter.

Table of Contents

To read all of the articles, as well as the full archive of past issues, visit Metropolitan Universities online.