An image-based multi-criteria assessment of sustainable redevelopment plans of a university campus

Abstract

The concept of sustainability is increasingly applied in urban facilities planning, including a University campus. A campus can essentially be seen as a living laboratory for the development of ecologically-benign practices connected to the social interactions of an academic environment. Sustainable (re)development of a University campus calls for stakeholder-based assessment tools. The present paper offers an operational framework for such an assessment, focused on the possible transformations in the landscape of the Campus and the ecological, social and functional processes of re-development. In this study, a Regime multi-criteria evaluation method complemented with a strategic choice analysis regarding the performance and sustainability of Hokkaido University campus (Sapporo, Japan) is presented. This paper serves to trace whether and how the goals and principles defined in the strategic Plans for the development of this campus fit the needs and concerns of its users. This bottom-up approach is inter alia based on quantitative information collected in various focus group meetings with different stakeholders, followed by the use of a SWOT analysis supported by visual support tools (images). This approach allows us to develop an integral and quantitative assessment of the future performance of the campus, by focusing on its physical appearance, use characteristics and ecological landscape attributes.