As campuses work on developing climate action plans and long term sustainability projects, a challenge that many face is how to balance the need (or desire) to grow in a way that won’t detract from the determined path toward sustainability.

Simply put, how does a campus adequately serve growing populations of students, increase the campus footprint, and add more facilities while also reducing their emissions and ensuring that the growth is sustainable? Who defines what “sustainable growth” even looks like on a campus? What are some of the unique challenges facing different types of institutions? How do goals of expansion differ at urban schools versus rural?

Keith H. Hirokawa, Assistant Professor of Law, and Patricia E. Salkin, Professor and Associate Dean of Law, at Albany Law School, sought to answer those questions and more in their recent publication, “Can Urban University Expansion and Sustainable Development Co-Exist?: A Case Study in Progress on Columbia University”(click title to download the full paper).

Keith and Patricia were kind enough to send me a brief overview of the paper (which is free to download here):

“A growing emphasis on sustainability has concerned university expansion over the last several years. Reaching consensus on a precise definition of "sustainability" in this context has proved somewhat elusive, as the word conjures different meanings to various stakeholder interests. The planned expansion of Columbia University offers an excellent case study for examining the diverse interpretations of sustainability and the exploring the efforts of the University to identify and implement a sustainable plan. In addition to planning and community outreach efforts, the University decided to proceed with a controversial eminent domain proceeding that resulted in protracted litigation. This article discusses various approaches to evaluating sustainability in higher education, with a focus on the experience of urban university expansion through an examination of Columbia University’s recent expansion project. “

I found the Columbia University case to be special in many ways, partly due to the sheer size of the expansion plans for an urban campus. Scheduled to occur in two phases, the plans include the addition of 6.8 million square feet for classrooms, research facilities, housing, and parking through the redevelopment of seventeen acres in a neighborhood called Manhattanville.

The paper thoroughly examines the competing definitions of what is classified as “sustainable” or “unsustainable” by different stakeholders, and discusses the different sustainability roles that higher education institutions play in their communities.

I am interested to hear from sustainability practitioners on campus – are you facing similar challenges on your campus? How are you balancing the need to grow with the sustainability goals of your campus?