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Anchor institutions in the changing city: The university’s role in shaping the Future High Street
Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal,
18
(4),
410-428
(2025)
Abstract
This paper contributes to debates on the role of universities within cities and develops a broader understanding of them as anchor institutions. As the UK high street faces a period of continued, challenging change, a case study approach is adopted in examining the role of universities as anchor institutions in shaping the future of urban centres. Following on from the House of Lords’ Built Environment Committee’s ‘High Streets: Life Beyond Retail’ 2024 report emphasising the importance of engaged local communities in the future of the high street, to which the authors contributed, this paper focuses on the UK Government’s Future High Streets initiative through a case examination of one university’s role in shaping a successful Future High Streets project from conception to the early stages of delivery. Taking Sheffield as a case study, the paper highlights the university’s multifaceted role as a key city stakeholder and reveals the benefits of the institution’s involvement through knowledge exchange and enhanced capacity, before tentatively suggesting future directions in university–city regeneration projects. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: anchor institutions; high streets; regeneration; levelling up; universities
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Vanessa Toulmin Professor Vanessa Toulmin is University of Sheffield Director of City, Culture and Public Engagement and leads a team responsible for partnering with core city cultural institutions to link the university’s research and academic expertise to Sheffield and the wider region’s needs and drive economic cultural vibrancy, including extensive work on the city’s Future High Streets bid.
Malcolm Tait Professor Malcolm Tait is Professor of Planning in the School of Geography and Planning, University of Sheffield. His research interests align around a critical understanding of the activity of planning, in particular how planning is conceived politically and its relationship with other areas of societal concern, such as ecology, housing and urban renewal.
Tosh Warwick Dr Tosh Warwick is a Research Associate in the School of Geography and Planning, University of Sheffield. Tosh has extensive research and policy experience in industrial heritage and urban regeneration. He has contributed to National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England, public and private urban heritage projects, including High Street Heritage Action Zone schemes (HSHAZ).
Julian Dobson Dr Julian Dobson is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University. Julian has a broad interest in place and society, and a particular focus on the complex systemic changes required to achieve environmentally and socially just approaches to urban life. His research expertise is in social and economic regeneration, urban greenspace, town and city centres and the civic role of universities.
