Beyond ‘town and gown’: the role of the university in small and medium-sized cities

In recent years, universities have become more active in performing new activities that have been added to those regarded as ‘traditional’. This trend has led to a number of changes, among which is a transformation of the status of universities in urban and regional contexts and, in particular, an increase in their impact on the development of medium-sized university cities. From a methodological point of view the contribution of universities to urban development can be analysed from three different perspectives: knowledge and economic; relational; and cultural. Starting from these points of view, this paper analyses three cases of European medium-sized university cities (Oxford, Leuven and Pisa), in which the presence of one or more universities represents an important asset not only for the construction and evolution of knowledge spaces but also for urban development as a whole, by leaving tangible and intangible ‘traces’, reinforcing the relationship between academia and local community and contributing to the identity of knowledge cities.