Although the beauty of the campus has seemed constant to generations of Princetonians, the campus itself has always been a work in progress, evolving to meet the changing needs of the University community.

The next phase of its evolution is described in a new campus plan. Developed over the past two years, this collaborative effort was led by the New York firm of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP, who coordinated the work of experts in fields ranging from parking logistics to landscape design while consulting with members of the campus community.

The plan spells out measures to maintain Princeton’s human scale while accommodating the increase in the size of the student body and the expansion of efforts in academic fields such as neuroscience and the arts. It is designed to ensure that no part of campus is more than a ten-minute walk from the Frist Campus Center, preserving the academic and residential culture cherished by generations of Princetonians.

Five principles guided the effort: maintaining a pedestrian-friendly campus; preserving its park-like setting; maintaining existing campus neighborhoods while promoting a sense of community; developing in an environmentally sensitive manner; and sustaining strong relations with the community  beyond the FitzRandolph Gates.

The plan has recommendations for five “neighborhoods”—areas with loosely defined boundaries that are characterized by a concentrated use, activity, or discipline—to best integrate future growth. The most dramatic redevelopment proposes the creation of an arts and transit neighborhood near McCarter Theatre to support the University’s expanded commitment to the creative and performing arts. On the drawing board: a new arts plaza framed by the Peter B. Lewis Center for the Arts (featuring a black box theater, an orchestral rehearsal studio, acting and dance studios, music practice rooms, and classrooms) and new gallery space for the Art Museum; new retail space; and a transportation hub near the intersection of Alexander Street and University Place. Planners envision a new gateway to campus with a relocated Dinky train station plus access space for area buses and campus shuttles.

The natural sciences neighborhood, connected by the planned Streicker Bridge pedestrian walkway over Washington Road, will encourage interdisciplinary collaboration in chemistry, psychology, molecular biology, and genomics. It also includes the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, to be housed in a new state-of-the art building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect José Rafael Moneo.

Further integration of science disciplines will be part of the Prospect Avenue and William Street neighborhood, which will include a new building to house both the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering (ORFE) and the Center for Information Technology Policy, and further expansion of the Engineering Quadrangle.

A neighborhood in the vicinity of Ivy Lane and Western Way will see the reconfiguration and improvement of athletic fields and a new parking facility. The historic core campus neighborhood encompasses many of the undergraduate student dormitories, including the new Butler College currently under construction and expected to open in 2009.

Many of the campus plan’s recommendations are already underway or soon will become part of the University’s capital plan. Some, such as the neuroscience and engineering buildings and support for the creative and performing arts, are included in the Aspire campaign’s table of needs.