Learning Resources

Abstract: Participating in the STARS sustainability tracking system can provide campuses with opportunities to do integrated analysis and planning. Campus operating decisions are often made to achieve narrow, localized optimization. More integrated analysis and planning can identify opportunities for greater financial savings and more sustainable operations by identifying impacts and interactions beyond normal planning boundaries. This article provides four specific scenarios as examples of the potential for more global optimization.

Abstract: California State Polytechnic University, Pomona was an early signatory of a climate neutrality pledge. This article draws lessons from the university’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction planning effort by explaining the planning process and the plan features. Three themes are explored: (1) creation of the emissions baseline and targets, (2) strategy selection, and (3) the plan’s relationship with the broader change process. The article concludes with suggestions for other campuses entering the GHG planning process.

Abstract: The study described in this article examined the development and implementation of a geographic information system (GIS)as a simple sketch-plan tool for analyzing land use, transit routes, student ridership, and bus stop locations in order to improve the effectiveness of transit systems in college towns.The methodology was applied to Auburn University’s Tiger Transit system, which assists students commuting to and from the campus, and the route changes implemented as a result of this analysis significantly improved the system’s effectiveness. Transit ridership increased by 23 percent from 13,000 to 16,000 riders per day. The transit routes were changed to serve almost 90 percent of the student population using fewer buses, compared to 70 percent served before the improvement.In addition, the transit system started to serve commercial locations such as malls, recreational locations, cinemas, and big-box stores.