Bicentennial on Semiquincentennial: Did the Smartest Guys in 1976 Predict 2026?

A National Geographic from 1976 offers a glimpse into the hopes and fears of America's future.

May 12 • Ryan M Allen

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Traffic Cameras and Campus Free Speech, Ruining Old Books, & More

Around the College Towns: Links and commentary related to urbanism and higher ed for the week of April 27 - May 3.

May 4

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April 2026

AI Wrangler Jobs Are Already Real, Rat Cars, & More

Around the College Towns: Links and commentary related to urbanism and higher ed for the week of April 18 - April 26.

Apr 27

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Fantastical Adaptive Reuse: The Story of Fu Ren University, Beijing, China.

From a prince's palace, then a Catholic school ordained by the Pope, to a modern national university.

Apr 20 • Ryan M Allen

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No One Wants to Be the Internet Town Square, 16th Century Faculty Salaries, & More

Around the College Towns: Links and commentary related to urbanism and higher ed for the week of April 10 - 17

Apr 16 • Ryan M Allen

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The US Needs a New Space Race

Artemis II is the first leg of the Space Race with China with the end goal of a university on the Moon.

Apr 9 • Ryan M Allen

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Dispatches from CIES, BTS at Howard University, & More

Around the College Towns: Links and commentary related to urbanism and higher ed for the week of March 24 - April 3.

Apr 2

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March 2026

Is Hoppers a NIMBY Movie? & More

Around the College Towns: Links and commentary related to urbanism and higher ed for the weeks of March 10 to March 23.

Mar 23 • Ryan M Allen

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What China Has Planned For Higher Ed By 2030

Commentary on the higher education plans within the Chinese 15th Five-Year Plan.

Mar 16 • Ryan M Allen

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Higher Ed Age of Conquest, Deleted Bluesky, & More

Around the College Towns: Links and commentary related to urbanism and higher ed for the week of March 2 - March 9.

Mar 10

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Stop Blaming Boomers, Restaurant Sameness, & More

Around the College Towns: Links and commentary related to urbanism and higher ed for the week of Feb. 23 - March 1.

Mar 2 • Ryan M Allen

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February 2026

The Dashboard That Cried Wolf

Trump's new higher ed foreign gift dashboard is an overpromised, contextless mess.

Feb 24 • Ryan M Allen

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