Short answer
When designing community engagement strategies, especially those involving economic development like tourism, actively consider and mitigate potential disparities in capacity and competitive advantage between different stakeholders.
- Field
- Innovation & Design
- Source
- Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University) (2011)
- Method
- Grounded theory, institutional ethnography, and case study methodology.
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
Public land-grant universities are increasingly engaging in tourism planning and development as a form of community placemaking, which can inadvertently create a competitive disadvantage for less resourced institutions and their communities. This innovation & design research insight is drawn from a 2011 study published in Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University). Using Grounded theory, institutional ethnography, and case study methodology., researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: When designing community engagement strategies, especially those involving economic development like tourism, actively consider and mitigate potential disparities in capacity and competitive advantage between different stakeholders.
Elite Universities Leverage Tourism for Placemaking Power, Creating Competitive Disadvantage for Others
Public land-grant universities are increasingly engaging in tourism planning and development as a form of community placemaking, which can inadvertently create a competitive disadvantage for less resourced institutions and their communities.
Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University) · 2011
Key Findings
- 01Elite public land-grant universities are actively promoting their involvement in tourism planning and development as a form of community engagement.
- 02This engagement positions these universities as significant placemakers, enhancing their communities' competitiveness as destinations.
- 03Universities lacking the capacity to engage in this innovative approach to community engagement also lack placemaking power.
- 04The adoption of community-based tourism engagement marketing strategies by elite universities disadvantages lower-capacity institutions and their communities, potentially reinforcing existing power structures.
Application
Design takeaway
When designing community engagement strategies, especially those involving economic development like tourism, actively consider and mitigate potential disparities in capacity and competitive advantage between different stakeholders.
How to apply
When proposing or evaluating community development projects, analyze the potential for the project to create a competitive advantage for some participants and a disadvantage for others, and design mitigation strategies.
Project actions
- 01When researching a community project, consider who benefits most and who might be left out.
- 02Think about how different groups in a community have different levels of resources and how this affects their ability to participate or benefit.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Explores a novel aspect of university-community engagement.
- +Identifies potential equity issues in development strategies.
Limitations
The findings might be specific to the context of public land-grant universities and tourism development.
Reliability & validity
The study uses multiple qualitative methods (grounded theory, ethnography, case study) which can enhance validity through triangulation, but the exploratory nature and potential for researcher bias in qualitative research are considerations for reliability.
Think critically
How can design interventions in community development be structured to ensure equitable benefits and prevent the concentration of power and resources?
Design Principles
"Equitable opportunity in community development initiatives should be a core consideration, ensuring that strategies do not inadvertently create new disadvantages."
This dynamic highlights how strategic engagement in emergent fields like tourism development can become a tool for institutional advancement and community positioning. Designers and researchers should be aware of how such initiatives can create unintended consequences, potentially exacerbating existing inequalities.
What This Means for Your Design
Some universities are really good at using tourism to make their towns attractive places to visit. This makes them and their towns more successful, but it can make it harder for other universities and towns that don't have the same resources to compete.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use this research to discuss the potential for your design project to create unintended consequences or inequalities within a community context.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
This research highlights how strategic engagement in areas like tourism development can lead to 'placemaking power,' where certain institutions and their communities gain a competitive edge. This raises critical questions about equity in design and development, suggesting that design projects should actively consider and mitigate potential disadvantages for less-resourced stakeholders to avoid reinforcing existing societal inequalities.
Source
Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University)
From outreach to engaged placemaking
journal · 2011
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about elite universities leverage tourism for placemaking power, creating competitive disadvantage for others?
- When designing community engagement strategies, especially those involving economic development like tourism, actively consider and mitigate potential disparities in capacity and competitive advantage between different stakeholders. Evidence: Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University) (2011).
- Why does "Elite Universities Leverage Tourism for Placemaking Power, Creating Competitive Disadvantage for Others" matter for design?
- This dynamic highlights how strategic engagement in emergent fields like tourism development can become a tool for institutional advancement and community positioning. Designers and researchers should be aware of how such initiatives can create unintended consequences, potentially exacerbating existing inequalities.
- How can designers apply this research?
- When designing community engagement strategies, especially those involving economic development like tourism, actively consider and mitigate potential disparities in capacity and competitive advantage between different stakeholders.
- What were the main findings?
- Elite public land-grant universities are actively promoting their involvement in tourism planning and development as a form of community engagement.. This engagement positions these universities as significant placemakers, enhancing their communities' competitiveness as destinations.. Universities lacking the capacity to engage in this innovative approach to community engagement also lack placemaking power.. The adoption of community-based tourism engagement marketing strategies by elite universities disadvantages lower-capacity institutions and their communities, potentially reinforcing existing power structures.
- What research method was used?
- Grounded theory, institutional ethnography, and case study methodology..
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2011 journal from Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University).
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When proposing or evaluating community development projects, analyze the potential for the project to create a competitive advantage for some participants and a disadvantage for others, and design mitigation strategies.
- What are the limitations?
- The study is exploratory and focuses on a specific type of institution (public land-grant universities) and a specific type of engagement (tourism).