Economic Piece of Campus Overhall

1. Art Installations
Several groups suggested implementing artwork on campus in the form of murals, mosaics, and sculptures. This has the potential to be very budget-friendly. By using recycled materials and enlisting students in the art department to create the pieces as a project for their coursework, these ideas could be completed with a relatively small budget. The recycled materials would hopefully be cheaper than virgin ones, and students would likely be willing to design the pieces for little or no monetary compensation. (Especially if it was a class assignment or some sort of competition.) The following website includes resources for recycled art materials: http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/reuse/links/Art.htm

Scrap metal sculpture

Scrap metal sculpture 

Plastic bottle sculpture

2. Cyclist Amenities
Among the ideas regarding biking, people mentioned raised bike paths, visible bike signage and lane lines, and sheltered bike racks. Creating a raised bike path would likely be the most expensive of these suggestions, due to the materials and construction required for such an installation. But, materials could again be sourced secondhand, and the Urban Ecology and Engineering Departments could collaborate on the design and creation. Creating signs and lane lines that would guide bikers through fluid routes and keep pedestrians from interfering would be a relatively cheap fix, via the use of durable paint and metals. This would also be a somewhat quick project, that could be done on a low-traffic day like a holiday or Sunday. Finally, creating sheltered bike racks would be an initial cost of creating a structure. (Roughly starting at $1300). However, if done correctly, the structure wouldn't need much maintenance, and could virtually be a one-time implementation.

Large bike shelter with a simple green roof

Bike lockers

Bike shelter with extensive green roof system

Cleary marked bike/pedestrian lanes

3. Redoing the Library Plaza
A universal complaint across our class was the Marriott Library Plaza. As Gui put it, the plaza suffers from "Concretus Overloadus." She's right-- passers by are totally inundated with monotone, unfriendly, uninspiring swaths of cement. By redoing this plaza with updated seating, engaging fountains, green roofs, and dynamic biota, there are many monetary benefits. Although there would certainly be initial costs with the remodels, these costs could be offset by the money spent by students on campus, who spend more time on campus enjoying this plaza, rather than high-tailing it back to home as soon as possible. Additionally, with a more memorable campus, alumni would be more likely to make donations to the University. Finally, implementations like fountains and green roofs could be fueled with grey water, reducing the costs associated with the purchase of virgin water. (The University has already paid for grey water once, so we might as well use it again rather than buying new water.)

An engaging campus plaza

Another beautiful plaza

4. Conservatory
Creating a conservatory on campus would be a large undertaking. (From my research, we'd be looking at shelling out about $25/square foot. So for a large conservatory, it would be several tens of thousands of dollars.) But, with this new space would come the opportunity for the Edible Campus Gardens to grow more food, especially during the hostile winter months. This food could then be sold at the Farmer's Market, generating income. Additionally, this conservatory would create more jobs for gardeners, and also serve as a living learning laboratory for biology/botany/environmental science students, so that they wouldn't have to spend money ordering samples and taking field trips.

Pretend this is a student working in the greenhouse! 

An abundance of refreshing growth 

A memorable conservatory roof

5. Bus/Shuttle Stop Amenities
Public transit and campus shuttle riders need more provisions. Covered stops should be one of them. With the creation of covered bus areas, more people would be inclined to use the bus/shuttle system. With more people taking the bus, there's less need to spend money on building new parking lots, paying parking attendants, and performing parking lot maintenance. (Parking lots are extraordinarily expensive! A parking garage can cost millions of dollars. One quote I read online priced a parking garage at $8.5 M!)

Bus stop shelter with green roof, benches, and plenty of shade/cover

A playful bus stop shelter with swings

Another green roof bus shelter, complete with a live feed of the bus locations