Yale doesn't dominate the city nearly as much as you would think. Sure, it's prominent in terms of owning large quantities of real estate...but in terms of culture and psychology and day to day commerce, Yale isn't such a major presence in the city. (Strange but true: I was actually born in New Haven and yet to this day I have never been inside a Yale building.) By contrast, I used to live in Manhattan very close to New York University, and just walking around the neighborhood was an ordeal: packed with students rushing to their next class, local businesses focused on servicing their needs. The difference between there and here couldn't be more stark.