Tricategorical Universal Properties Via Enriched Homotopy Theory

We develop the theory of tricategorical limits and colimits, and show that they can be modelled up to biequivalence via certain homotopically well-behaved limits and colimits enriched over the monoidal model category Gray of $2$-categories and $2$-functors. This categorifies the relationship that bicategorical limits and colimits have with the so called `flexible' enriched limits in $2$-category theory. As examples, we establish the tricategorical universal properties of Kleisli constructions for pseudomonads, Eilenberg-Moore and Kleisli constructions for (op)monoidal pseudomonads, centre constructions for Gray-monoids, and strictifications of bicategories and pseudo-double categories.