Learning Resources

Abstract: How can the campus best support student development in a safe, yet open environment? On an urban campus, these concerns are intensified: There is much more localized activity for students to engage with in their city environment, and many more stakeholders influence how the institution can assert itself in that environment.

In this 2022-2023 SCUP Fellow research report, Joel Pettigrew reflects on how campus edge dynamics and student sense of security play out at several urban campuses. Pettigrew weaves together his operational understanding of campus life with a design understanding of how planners and architects approach the campus to explore how these “two languages” inform student security and well-being, and notes in conclusion that there are many research threads yet to follow.

Abstract: The quadrangle is a medieval-European legacy adapted by American universities during the nineteenth century. Given technological advances and changes in society, is the nineteenth-century icon changing? Will the American campus look different in the future? With a selected group of students, faculty, alumni, and staff, we discussed the relevance—past, present, and future—of Stanford University’s Main Quadrangle—as a venue for discourse and community engagement. Despite it being a relic, we concluded that the Main Quad continues to be the heart of the Stanford campus community.