In this episode we listen to a lecture by and interview with urbanist and historian Davarian L. Baldwin on the occasion of his highly acclaimed book In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities.

Urban universities play an important and outsized role in cities. They bring diverse ideas and people together and they generate new innovations. But they also gentrify neighbourhoods and exacerbate housing inequality in an effort to enrich campuses and attract students. They often become the main employers, dictating labour practices and suppressing wages. And they increasingly occupy real estate positions in vulnerable communities.

Together with Davarian Baldwin and De Dépendance editor Farid Tabarki we will discuss the relationship between universities and our cities. What is the role of higher education in shaping our urban environment? And how do we ensure that they actually contribute to a just and vibrant city?