University Campuses, City–University Interaction, and the Circulation of Knowledge in Eastern Finland, 1960–1990

This paper argues that the location of the university campus influences social identities within academia and the local networks of knowledge circulation between the campus and the city. The location factor is considered alongside other variables, such as social relations, personal experiences, as well as the type and operational scope of the universities. By focusing on two cities in Eastern Finland, Joensuu and Lappeenranta, and their respective universities, the article scrutinizes how local city authorities articulated the role and meaning of a university campus in circulating knowledge in the public arena(s), and how these views of local stakeholders related to the universities' own views on the relationship between campus development and knowledge circulation. The paper indicates that campus location as a factor in university–city relations involves, in particular, symbolism or symbolic messages that different actors can interpret as they see fit when constructing hierarchies and forming personal experiences of that specific relationship.