For the college campus, "place" means much more than just geography and
physical setting. It is the sum of the experiences, activities, events,
and memories that occur within the campus. American institutions of
higher education are giving renewed attention to the question of how the
quality and character of place can support the endeavors of the
institutions. In doing so, campus communities are seeking to reclaim
ground that was lost in the decades after World War II, when the
traditional virtues of campus coherence, human scale, and place
distinction were overtaken by explosive growth in attendance rates and
the growing prevalence of automobiles. American Places calls for
campuses to be conceived, not only to heighten the quality of the
learning experience, but also as working demonstrations of how places
everywhere can be transformed into more healthy, humane, civic
environments. As campuses and communities are reshaped by societal
forces, the campus will endure as a vital civil learning environment
well into the 21st century. American Places calls for campuses to be
designed, not only to heighten the quality of the learning experience,
but also as working demonstrations of ways in which places everywhere
can be transformed into more healthy, humane, civic environments. For
the college campus, "place" should mean much more than geography and
physical setting. It represents the sum of the experiences, activities,
events, and memories that occur within the campus boundaries. Today,
American institutions of higher education are devoting renewed attention
to the question of how the quality and character of place can support
their goals. In doing so, campus communities are seeking to reclaim
psychological ground that was lost in the decades after World War II,
when the traditional virtues of campus coherence, human scale, and place
distinction were overtaken by explosive growth in attendance and the
growing prevalence of automobiles. The quest to make better places of
college campuses has a critical pract
