University of Oregon Southwest Campus Diagnosis

University Planning Office

Summary of Results

This diagnosis resulted in a series of maps (and related information) that depict the current Long Range Campus Development Plan's policies/patterns and existing conditions overlaid with information describing which areas need fixing in the study area.

A summary map shows the areas that need fixing and areas that work well. Click here to read the map in .pdf format. If your browser doesn't support .pdf files, click here to see a .gif at a lower resolution.

In addition, suggested revisions to existing patterns and possible new Long Range Campus Development Plan patterns were identified.

Please contact the University Planning Office to view a copy of the complete document.

Project Description and Background

Introduction

This study records the existing conditions of the southwest region of the campus as they relate to the university's Long Range Campus Development Plan's policies and patterns. It will aid in decision making for potential development of the area, as well as help identify the need for future amendments to the Long Range Campus Development Plan.

The principle of diagnosis is one of the six basic principles of the planning process adopted by the university in 1974, known as "The Oregon Experiment," and elaborated upon in the Long Range Campus Development Plan: The principle of diagnosis establishes that in order to provide a general context to direct the regenerative processes of continuous adaptation and repair, a periodic analysis of the present state of the campus is required. (p. 12) This diagnostic study is only one step in the planning process to guide future development. As stated by Christopher Alexander in his book The Oregon Experiment, "The diagnosis tells us what is wrong, now, in the present" (p. 157). The diagnosis is not intended to establish policies and patterns, but to determine how the established policies and patterns are working. It is not intended to present the university with specific solutions for individual projects, but to analyze the combined effect past projects have had on the university environment.

Study Area

The study area encompasses the southwest portion of campus bounded by the Pioneer Cemetery on the east, 18th Avenue on the south, Alder Street on the west, and the sidewalk north of the College of Education (which defines the UO property line) on the north. The northern boundary extends though the rear addition of the Knight Library. The area includes a variety of uses. It is home to the School of Music and the College of Education including Clinical Services. This area also includes a playing field and parking spaces for several hundred cars. The far southwestern corner of the site contains houses used by the YWCA and the Specialized Training Program.

Future plans for development will have an impact on all portions of this study area.

Background

To be effective, a diagnosis of the overall campus should be completed in advance of capital construction projects to anticipate necessary improvements and to incorporate them into future projects. The large size of the campus, however, makes a campus-wide diagnosis impractical. Therefore, instead of an overall diagnosis, the campus has been divided into manageable sections (to be revised somewhat as future proposed development dictates). Each year, a diagnostic study will be performed for a specified area until the entire campus is covered; at that time the cycle will begin again. The first diagnosis study, completed in 1999, covered the northeast central region of campus.

Currently, diagnosis is achieved, in part, by coordinating development needs with the academic program planning cycle as described in the Long Range Campus Development Plan. The biennial process identifies capital construction needs resulting in preparation of the Biennial Implementation Plan. Site diagnosis, which occurs when a construction project is ready to move forward with schematic design, also provides diagnostic opportunities. Unfortunately, by the time a project reaches the design phase, site diagnosis must be accomplished very quickly. Additionally, without a previous diagnosis study, improvements to surrounding areas are difficult to address during the design phase because they may not have been anticipated, and their costs are seldom included in the funding for capital construction projects.

Before the diagnosis studies, studies of areas larger than a development site occurred occasionally. In reference to the study area, the Southwest Campus Study, completed in 1989, recorded existing conditions, assessed future needs and established policy statements intended to guide development in the southwest campus area. Other smaller studies have included diagnoses of portions of the area as noted in the Past Projects and Studies Map on the following page.

Process

This study was conducted primarily by University Planning Office staff. In addition, a focus group was formed to gather input from the area's users.

Please contact the University Planning Office to view a copy of the complete document.