UNIVERCITY. The University as a Metaphor for the City. Processes, Methods, and Tools for Contemporary Design

Abstract

The university has always been the highest and noblest form of educational institution. Likewise, the relationship between the university and the urban setting has characterised the debate on the management and development of city policies. Cities and universities have been involved in urban regeneration processes, leading to profound changes. The progressive physical development of anthropised areas has gradually reached and definitively incorporated the oldest universities originally built outside the urban setting. This paper analyses the case of the university institution as a promoter of regeneration, inclusion, and development. We shall consider the close relationship between university, campus, and city, paying close attention to the recent evolution of methods for the planning and design of public spaces. The above is becoming a total social fact, a large field of application in which urban regeneration policies are reflected and in which the design dynamics of a resilient, accessible, inclusive, and sustainable city of the future converge.