Kambri at ANU BVN
The role of the university has always been about more than scientific advancement and knowledge exchange. Universities contribute to local communities by acting as a forum for discussion and debate, by hosting public facilities and events, and by providing skilled labour for regional economies. Yet, university campuses have not always been attuned to this dynamic, and with the increasing globalization and commercialization of higher education, these connections between the university and its local context are diminishing. Or, as Thomas Bender notes in The university and the city, “The university has always claimed the world, not its host city, as its domain.”1
The Acton campus of the Australian National University (ANU) forms a major part of Canberra, occupying around one-third of the city centre’s land mass. A 2018 review by Turnberry Consulting found that, in spite of its size, the campus lacks strong connections to the city, is often experienced as “dispersed and disconnected,” and lacks a
