Book Review: The impacts of green space on student experience at an urban community college: An exploration of wellbeing,belonging,and scholarly identity,by Naidoo,V.

For those who have taught and studied at universities or colleges in big cities, particularly in the United States, where the space is very limited, the lack of available space affects our way of life in these academic environments. Colleges in Manhattan, for instance, are located in a group of high-rise structures beneath skyscrapers, like the World Trade Center. For those who live there, there may be no problems in identifying and differentiating between office buildings and colleges. However, for foreigners on foot, the campuses appear quite similar to the architecture of their surroundings and may easily be mistaken for one another. This contrasts with Hollywood’s depiction of college campuses with housing, which covers acres of expansive green lawns surrounded by wrought-iron gates accented by attractive quadrangles.

The Impacts of Green Space on Student Experience at An Urban Community College by Vanita Naidoo provides a thorough case study looking at the physical and spatial aspects of urban campus design of community colleges that affect the well-being and experience of its residents, particularly students. Based on her doctoral thesis, Naidoo’s text is light yet rich and thorough in detail, comprising five chapters. Chapter 1 maps economic reforms and policies that have fueled the establishment of today’s inner-city campuses and provides significant historical background for understanding the fundamental ideas and purposes of college sites in the United States. It then focuses on the Bronx Community College of the City University of New York (CUNY) and especially considers how the presence or absence of green space impacts students.

In this chapter, Naidoo leads us to the Bronx, a borough frequently connected with Yankee Stadium or an urban appearance and character that gradually transitions to roomy freestanding homes before meeting the suburbia environment of Westchester County. She skillfully examines the intricacy of college life in one of the world’s greatest cities in this gripping novel rooted in a rich historical past. In one of New York’s most intricate and significant neighborhoods, University Heights, the Bronx Community College is tucked away on a lush green campus next to the banks of the Harlem River. Bronx Community College has a very different campus compared to many CUNY colleges. It corresponds to a more conventional park campus, with buildings set apart by a sweeping expanse of greenery. In many respects, it is isolated from the deluge of traffic that rages up and down the Bronx’s enormous boulevards. As Naidoo highlights from her study, students and faculty view the campus as a retreat, a place to gather and contemplate, and a setting for careful reflection.

Chapter 2 provides a literature review and conceptual frameworks of the interaction between learning space and experience, focusing on three key terms: well-being, belonging, and scholarly identity. The chapter also examines the historical and sociological facets of the academic environment at an urban public college in order to understand the concept of “campus as a place.” Chapter 3 presents the rationale and methodology Naidoo uses in studying at the Bronx Community College. Naidoo’s study draws on a mixed-methods approach in order to provide details on how the presence of green space on campus has impacted students’ well-being, belonging, and scholarly identity. Chapter 4 examines the study results, providing student perception, use, and well-being on campus. In the last chapter, Naidoo provides outcomes and implications for future campus design and development.

The book’s core strength lies in Naidoo’s historical and qualitative study that draws on substantial textual and in-person examination to give unique insights. In an environment that may feel overpowering and lonely, Naidoo captures the tensions and ambiguities of city living and how one of New York’s oldest community colleges helps people build their social and professional networks. While most of the work of higher education policy researchers centers on the internal processes of the college, in this book, Naidoo, a Canadian-American scholar of South African descent, provides new insights into how one’s relationship to learning is affected by physical space. She transports us to the campus during the pre-COVID era when New York City benefited from unquenchable energy. She chronicles the interval between the Great Recession and the Great Plague, a gap between these two disasters. College enrollments in U.S. higher education were increasing, and a varied cross-section of American society used the community college as a pathway to the middle class. Also, on campuses like Bronx Community College, staff, faculty, and students would run into one another on the quad to chat before heading to class, their faces showing without masks. It appears to be a different era. Thus, it turned out. Naidoo describes what takes place in the informal settings we develop with one another outside of the classroom, where we exchange ideas and experiences. She transports us to one of the most fascinating cultural locations on earth and provides a nuanced account of one of the leading community colleges in the country. Yes, it is a Bronx tale indeed.

The book may be specific in context. Nevertheless, this monograph will be useful for scholars and researchers interested in community colleges and urban education. In particular, community college leaders and administrators may learn from the text in providing green space in their colleges to improve the well-being, socialization, learning, and engagement of students, faculty, and community. Those interested in multicultural education and educational policy will also find it interesting.