How Universities Migrated into Cities and Democratized Higher Education
Colleges Once Thought the Countryside Bred Character. Now They Use Cities for "Hands-On Learning"
Since the end of World War II, most American college students have attended schools in cities and metropolitan areas. Mirroring the rapid urbanization of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this trend reflects the democratization of college access and the enormous growth in the numbers of commuter students who live at home while attending college.
Going to college in the city seems so normal now that it’s difficult to comprehend that it once represented a radical shift not only in the location of universities, …
