CUMU Conference 2019

Click the button above to view our Tool for Finding Potential Anchor Districts!

When universities and hospitals share a common geography, they can transform their neighborhood into a unique urban typology – an Anchor District. Anchor Districts are somewhat like hybrids of neighborhood improvement and business improvement districts, in which proximate institutions leverage their collective demand to deliver economic, cultural, and equitable benefit to their surrounding communities. The positive impacts of several existing Anchor Districts are well documented -- University City (Philadelphia), Midtown (Detroit), University Circle (Cleveland). However, the raw ingredients necessary to forge new Anchor Districts are present in many more cities throughout the country, from Tampa Bay to Seattle.