With the advent of the knowledge era, academia has begun to play new roles in society. As a result, requirements for the design of universities may also change. Milieus of lively and flourishing urban life that foster encounters and unforeseen collaborations within academia -- as well as between academia and society at large -- have been called for. In this research, a GIS analysis of Swedish register data shows that such mixed environments are limited to the university facilities situated within city centres. However, both new and abandoned locations are more mixed than average. Based on a literature review, we argue that university planners need a clear priority ranking of their objectives, as different objectives may call for different kinds of design. Moreover, the review reveals that other environmental qualities have also been ascribed importance to success. In general, the existing literature provides limited guidance to designers, due to a lack of consensus and because the actual effects of specific measures are less researched than stated perceptions. Thus, so far, the contemporary direction in university design has limited expressions in Sweden, has unclear -- and potentially conflicting -- objectives and is based on insufficient empirical knowledge.