University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus Master Plan 2012

This is an institutional master plan outlining capacity development for the University of Massachusetts going forward to 2020 and beyond to 2050. The plan establishes a shared vision for future development that features new open spaces; transportation and pedestrian safety; parking decks built on the edge of campus; new bike-ways; new circulation systems including pathways with striking views of the Pioneer Valley; improvements to utilities; and a strategy for reuse of historic buildings. The administration held more than 90 events in the past year with key stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, host communities and regional representatives and that was complemented by web-based surveys and applications to encourage participation. To meet the university’s current academic and research mission, the plan locates more than 1 million gross square feet of facilities. In an effort to position the university for an unknown future, the plan also illustrates approximately 7 million additional gross square feet, creating a compact, environmentally sensitive and efficient campus. The plan adopts an approach that mixes traditional land uses around a core of facilities adjacent to the campus lawns and pond. This new pattern will encourage a creative environment that will support collaboration, co-curricular learning and research, and will help create a vibrant environment all day and throughout the year. The more "compact/urban environment" in the campus core will also support the campus’s sustainability agenda by promoting shared resources, walking and the careful use of land.