Reading the State of the Art in Planning for College and University Campuses by Linda C. Dalton was a nice base to start with as we learn about Campus Planning. Comparing what was talked about in that reading to the UMKC Master Plan I noticed that UMKC was very aware of the three geographical scales relating to campus planning and those are: the campus, campus-community interface, and larger campus district. UMKC wants to redevelop and make the main center of the campus a stronger more defined area for students by creating something they call “The Campus Heart”. As far as the campus-community interface the plan says “the physical boundary of campus will continue to blur to catalyze innovation, collaboration, and immersive education opportunities.” (Pg10) A question that comes to mind when reviewing the pictures below is what can the campus or city offer to developers to have a higher interest on Troost and Atterbury?

            Expanding on the “campus community interface” brings a question to my mind. Does the current zoning around Volker Campus make it difficult to create a seamless transition that integrates students with the campus surroundings? In the Illustration, you will notice that a lot of the land surrounding the campus is residential. The campus only owns a small portion of the suburban houses located on the south end, and in some cases, the UMKC-owned houses are in between privately owned homes. Brush Creek feels like a natural hard cut-off line for the Volker Campus on the north end along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The West and East ends of Volker Campus feel like there is an opportunity to be had on Brookside Blvd and Troost. Is the “Campus District” the primary geographical focus for UMKC, allowing it to be larger due to the university being largely car-dependent or would that be taking a step in the wrong direction? I think it would be a step in the wrong direction. I feel that enhancing the ability for students to be able to walk or bike to class and being able to take public mass transportation to the surrounding areas more efficiently is key and would make the Volker campus more desirable to new students. By doing this, the geographical scales relating to campus planning would naturally make themselves more noticeable.