Why Are College Towns So Great?

It always bears repeating: Americans are so fond of their time in college because it's likely the only time in their life they'll live in a walkable area

If you want to build an eco-friendly neighbourhood, build student housing. Students don't have enough money to pollute! - Lecturer in college

My favorite towns are college towns. I always tell people they are often the perfect combination of big city amenities with small town charm.

When I traveled to Northern Europe, I was struck by how similar the cities I visited felt like college towns I had been to. Especially the less touristy or old city center areas. Basically where people lived felt like universities without the university part

I'd also like to point out how good the architecture is at a lot of American Universities

As a Cornellian, it’s so weird to see a YouTube channel I’ve been watching for so long talk about places I walk by everyday.

There are a number of attributes that make college towns nice. - They tend to be older so have more/bigger trees - Biking paths and options in general tend to be nice - Campus malls tend to be relatively compact which makes them easy to walk. You can eat/sleep/"work"/play in a a compact area without a car. - Most college tends tend have more creative shops/restaurants - Demographics for college towns skew toward white collar/educated/intelligent people.

As a Texas A&M grad I'm so impressed by the difference between the jobs of campus planners and the city of College Station (which is doing their best). Campus planners don't have to worry about NIMBY's and the university employees almost everyone anyways so they have an incredible amount of leverage to redevelop parking lots and operate a massive bus network as well as implement bike lanes and bus lanes (only on campus). But it's still really crazy to look at the campus masterplan and realize how much of it is able to be implemented due to Top down planning.

I went to a university in a university town which was also a seaside tourist town called Aberystwyth in Wales, it is an amazing and beautiful place. Over 40% of the population are students. There is a good relationship with local residents as many are former students because they loved it so much. But it was also the first university in Wales (1872) and was paid for by public and private subscription to buy this astonishing gothic building on the coast called the Old College now. Meaning people in the town had partly paid for it, so it became an integral part of the town's identity and culture. This includes the Arts Centre which is part of the university but is for the locals as well, it includes dance studios, threatre, cinema, cafe, bar, museum and art gallery. The university is also vital to the modern economy, as most tourist areas are very seasonal, whereas for Aberystwyth tourists turn up in the summer and then students for the other 3 seasons keeping the local economy in a healthy state year round. The locals also drink in the same pubs and nightclubs as the students etc. The students in Aberystwyth do drink a lot and that's compared to other students, which for residents is probably one issue, unless they want to join in. The town does also have a very high Welsh speaking population which is one cause of friction, there are many Welsh speaking students, but most are not Welsh speakers and like myself are not Welsh either and come from England and Ireland. However it's not a major issue I found. Judging by the video I think Aberystwyth has a rather unique relationship with the local residents.

Chapel Hill fits this idea perfectly, by being a moderately sized town (~60k), but due to the massive university (UNC Chapel Hill), the public bus system is not only large but also free, and downtown is great.

I heard someone mention that college towns may be the only time that many Americans live in a walkable neighborhood. And even my semi-commuter college was more walkable than where I live now.

As someone who lives in a college town after having graduated from school, you hit the nail on the head on a ton of the reasons why I just love living here. There's lots of community events ran by organizations that are part of the local university, there's a great downtown, there's really great transit (though it has rather limited service on the weekends when students don't need to commute to class), and all the amenities I need are really close by. I always wanted to escape from the suburbs when I was young, and the crowds of people in a city always seemed intimidating to me, but college towns keep a small town charm combined with big city accessibility and amenities.

I dropped out of a state college over a decade ago, but I often go to Princeton and walk around just because it's pretty and I like the vibe. Plus the record store there is great.

Sad that UC Davis didn’t get a mention! Great bike paths, bus system, transportation overall. In California when you think of college towns, Davis comes to mind.

University of Arizona student: Tucson is really weird because it's like a sun belt city grew around a college town. The central area is super bike friendly (a significant swath from downtown to the University has a perfect bikescore), has every component, has a super useful, high-frequency streetcar, and has a lot of great amenities, but if you go too far out it starts looking like the Phoenix area (but not quite as bad) Just some thoughts.

I live in Tempe, near Arizona State University and yes, it is great living in a college town - I'm close enough to bike to everything (as things are often set up for students, who do not have a car - walk score of 86, a bike score of a 100 and there is also a street car and the light rail which also goes to Mesa and Phoenix, runs through the area :-)

As others have mentioned, college towns are unmatched for their walkability/bikeability. I attended UC Santa Barbara, which borders the college town of Isla Vista, which directly borders the beach. Mashed into just 1.8 sq miles is a population of about 15k people, with around 80% being college students, either at UCSB or the nearby Santa Barbara City College. With shops and restaurants mixed in, it was always extremely easy to get around and almost all my friends/profs would bus/walk/or bike to campus. It is such a bummer that the US has become so suburb-centric and lost the community that a college town provides with how easy it is to get around

College towns are the best! I went to Iowa State, and Ames is definitely one of my favorite places in Iowa. I'm living in Los Angeles now, it's awesome to see the the student population is so huge. I had no idea.

One of the more interesting dynamics between the local town and university involves taxes. Universities tend to be tax-exempt and therefore don't pay the property taxes (and possibly other kinds too) that support various city services (police, fire, etc...) Which can place a strain on the local police/fire dept. Even if the university should have their own police/fire depts, if something happens off-campus, it will be the local dept that has to respond to the situation. These costs ultimately are borne by the property owners who pay the taxes. Usually there is a balance, but if it gets out of whack, it creates another point of friction between the town and the university.

2:42 I think the appeal of living in a college town after graduation I think is mostly fueled by nostalgia as you're young and surrounded by people the same age constantly. It's less about the town itself and more the experience then misattributing it to the place.