Campus development as civic interface: bridging rhetoric, practice, buildings and civic capital

Through two case studies of UK civic universities, this article examines the gap between universities’ civic engagement rhetoric and the realities of campus development practice. Revealing approaches that were either tokenistic or non-participatory, it argues that such practices can erode trust and undermine civic responsibility, particularly when development sites are not actively treated as visible civic interfaces. The study introduces the Civic Interface model, offering a diagnostic framework for identifying when construction activities affect localities and how institutions can maximise positive impacts through targeted, context-sensitive engagement. The model demonstrates how everyday project decisions can either accumulate or deplete civic capital.