Each year, Travel and Leisure magazine releases its Most Beautiful Campuses in Every State feature—a compilation, in the editors’ opinion, of the most attractive college campuses in each state. Most of the short descriptions mention the buildings, manicured quads and physical beauty of the collegiate environment. Some of the universities mentioned were not surprising.

Few can dispute how Yale’s Gothic architecture, University of Colorado-Boulder’s Spanish-colonial buildings with impressive views of the Rocky Mountains or Pepperdine’s Malibu location—perched high atop a hill overlooking the cascading waves of the Pacific Ocean—would put those campuses on the top of most people’s lists. Of the 50, only three campuses were in big metropolises—the University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago and Georgetown University, all of which happen to be in neighborhoods away from the hustle and bustle of Philadelphia, Chicago and DC, respectively.

While I was very happy my graduate school alma mater Penn made the list, I started thinking about how so often urban campuses are overlooked for their own distinctive sense of beauty. Their physical space being part of a city creates a positive and unique energy and promotes diversity, creativity and curiosity about members of the university and its community neighbors.

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New York University’s Washington Square Park, in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, is a prime example of how a common meeting space is shared by a city college and its surrounding neighborhood. It is the heart and central point of the campus. Walking through NYC’s “main quad,” you will observe professors grading papers, students distributing literature on climate change, the investment banker escaping the office to catch some sun, the artist being inspired while painting her next masterpiece, the tech startup founder taking a call with an investor and the dance troupe drawing crowds. There are also the elderly men who come every afternoon to play chess in the park, sometimes challenging the NYU freshman and building a community and connection between generations.

Washington Square has long been a hub for politics and culture in NYC, beginning with the Beat Generation in the 1950s up until today. It’s often difficult to determine who’s who, where people are from, if they are students or NYC residents, or just visiting for a few days from places near and far. However, one common thread that is intertwined among all who pass through is their unique contribution to creating and enhancing a landscape of diversity and participating in generating a sense of urban energy.

During my time in admissions and student services at NYU, I was often on their main campus and cut through Washington Square Park on my way to a meeting or to sit with my lunch and observe all the organized chaos. It’s sometimes easy to forget how exceptional this public space really is, a haven from the city streets and one of the best-recognized and best-loved destinations in New York City. Anyone who is part of the NYU community knows that campus would not be the same without it, and all appreciate its idiosyncratic beauty and the respite it provides from the urban jungle.

As higher education is evolving, students and parents are becoming buyers of not only what they’re learning in the classroom, but are greatly considering the unique opportunities a school can offer to help them grow as individuals, gain independence and be exposed to the “real world.”

Part of the excitement of leaving home are the unknown and endless possibilities that lie ahead. Urban campuses not only allow students to take advantage of what is commonly manufactured through any college experience, but intertwine them with the city fabric. All beneficial—and beautiful—characteristics that students will use once they graduate.

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