books and culture Town v. Gown A new book argues that many urban universities have their cities over a barrel. Cities Economy, finance, and budgets In this thought-provoking account of contemporary town-gown tensions, Davarian L. Baldwin writes: “when most of the United States had abandoned cities in the mid-twentieth century, higher education was one of the only institutions that remained.” These universities—either built on the urban-fortress model, like Chicago, or with buildings that jostle among others, like NYU—became ever more important to urban economies. Meantime, as state funding for higher ed trended down, universities turned to real estate as a source of income, often snapping up properties near campus with an eye either to future expansion or asset appreciation. As commercial landlords, universities enjoy a competitive advantage in the property market, thanks to their nonprofit tax status. Acquiring properties also gives them considerable control of neighborhoods that aren’t even “part of” the university. Baldwin has a term for zones where, for better or worse, the university has become the dominant employer and property owner: UniverCities.