Educational Institutions as Urban Anchor Actors: The AUB 2030 Masterplan as Case Study

Abstract

Building on the concept of “anchor institutions”, this thesis investigates the relationship of educational institutions with their immediate urban environments, taking the case of the American University of Beirut (AUB) as its case-study. The thesis assesses AUB’s latest masterplan document with regard to a set of anchor behaviour indicators, that were developed from the analysis of 14 case studies of town-gown relations around the globe. These indicators were synthesized in a framework that could be used to evaluate any university-city relation. AUB is one of the oldest and largest educational institutions in Lebanon. Since 1866, its presence in Ras Beirut was strongly linked to the spatial production and identity construction of the neighbourhood. AUB was ahead of other educational institutions in the region in the elaboration of a campus masterplan. The first was drafted in the early 2000s, and the latest masterplan revision was adopted in 2017, envisioning AUB in 2030. The thesis main findings are that, in its current form, the masterplan disregards the enormous potential of AUB to act as a positive anchor in its context, in line with other universities in the United States and elsewhere. Indeed, the masterplan reinforces the campus’ detachment from its surroundings and turns a blind eye to the socio-economic and environmental issues of its context, thus contradicting outreach efforts that AUB is deploying otherwise through several units and efforts in order to serve the city and contribute to its equitable development. To remedy these shortcomings, the thesis recommends the adoption of diverse and place-based urban engagement strategies, at the general masterplan level and at the micro-scales of adjacent neighborhoods. To explore in further detail its recommendations, the thesis develops a pilot urban design intervention in a selected section of Ras Beirut. Should they be adopted, the thesis argues that such recommendations would better serve the University in claiming its anchor role, reinforcing its urban engagement and growing its context integration.