America's urban futures: In and beyond the city

Abstract

This article assesses the changing dynamics of urbanization and urbanism in the contemporary US through three lenses. First, it examines economic shifts spurred by the rise of the knowledge economy, which position higher education institutions (HEIs) as drivers of innovation and urban growth. Second, it draws attention to new metropolitan geographies. Gentrifying inner cities and the suburbanization of race, poverty, and risk indicate a need for HEIs to reappraise their institutional structures, pedagogical practices, and responsibilities as urban place‐makers. Third, the article considers (post‐)pandemic futures and calls for racial justice to frame the city as both the setting and stake of social justice movements. The analysis pays particular attention to how these socio‐spatial transformations affect the landscape of post‐secondary urban education. The result is a contradictory portrait of an urban America with diverse futures forged at the intersection of rising inequality, segregation, and a desire for a more inclusive and just future.