Building on IUPUI’s Adopted Campus Sustainability Principles (2008), this Campus Master Plan embeds sustainability throughout.
The Campus Master Plan has focused on a purposeful and strategic incorporation of both quantitative and qualitative improvements to the setting of the academic mission, to promote a campus that manifests sustainable planning principles. Implicit in the plan is the goal of developing the campus as a learning environment where innovation is promoted, interpreted, and celebrated.
Overlaid on the key themes of the Campus Master Plan, the recommendations are grouped under several broad sustainable planning principles:
1. Adopt environmentally sensitive land use practices.
2. Move toward a carbon-neutral campus.
3. Ensure a range of transportation options.
4. Plan for innovative sustainable buildings and landscapes.
1. Adopt environmentally sensitive land use practices.
“We value and conserve natural resources and will seek to preserve and make sustainable use of our air, water, and land. We will protect and conserve non- renewable natural resources through efficient use, careful planning, collaborative land management programs and regulatory compliance. ” - 2008 Adopted Campus Sustainability Principles IUPUI is an urban campus, but can do much to conserve, protect, and restore natural resources in Indianapolis. The riparian corridors along the White River and Fall Creek should be restored in order to improve water quality and habitat, with bank stabilization, vegetated buffers, and the removal of invasive species. The reduction of impervious surfaces, pre-treatment of storm
water before discharge, and the separation of combined storm and sanitary sewers can have a big impact on water quality and habitat in the watershed. Increasing the tree canopy on campus and building an urban forest will absorb run off, sequester carbon, improve air quality, and mitigate the heat island effect of the urban environment. More compact development and minimizing the amount of impervious surfaces will also help conserve land and water resources.
Sustainabilty Principle 1 Recommendations
• Protect and restore aquatic habitat on the White River and Fall Creek.
• Eliminate invasive species and establish or enhance vegetated buffers for the White River and Fall Creek.
• Promote an increase in native landscaping, including restoration of riparian vegetation.
• Decrease use of hazardous lawn chemicals, pesticides, and fertilizer wherever possible.
• Implement Integrated Pest Management in both outdoor and indoor environments, wherever possible.
Sustainable Stormwater Management, University of Michigan, SmithgroupJJR
• Capture and treat water where it falls or as close as possible.
• Separate combined sewers to reduce/
eliminate discharge of sewage during large rainfall events.
• Increase campus density and diversify uses to encourage walking and increase quality of life.
• Create a green network to connect to the large ecosystem of the White River and Fall Creek.
• Reduce the amount of impervious surface through more density, more vertical
integration of uses, structured parking rather than surface lots, green roofs, pervious pavements, etc.
2. Move toward a carbon-neutral campus.
“As stewards of the IUPUI campus and of all its resources, we recognize the interdependence of humans with the environment. We must apply thoughtful and creative planning to achieve a thriving campus community built on the principles of sustainability. We must foster conservation, protection and enhancement of natural resources
through campus policy and personal behavior. We must promote a common agenda for IUPUI as a green campus. We must preserve and enhance the quality of life for our campus community and future generations in ways that enhance teaching and learning, research, civic engagement and administrative practices.” - 2008 Adopted Campus Sustainability Principles
The Campus Master Plan proposes a number of pathways that could lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions up to 80 percent by the year 2050. It identifies strategies that, if fully implemented, would result in a 25 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, even while increasing the built area by 50 percent. As an example, this is consistent with targets established by the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). The emissions addressed here result from the use of purchased electricity, steam, and chilled water. The University may wish to address the full range of emissions related to travel, commuting, and procurement through the evolution of other policies.
Alternate Forms of Transit
Sustainabilty Principle 2 Recommendations
• Use carbon emissions as a metric when evaluating suppliers of purchased electricity, chilled water, and steam.
• Anticipate solar thermal applications in the design of buildings and systems.
• Expand metering of individual building’s energy use. Identify disproportionately high energy users to prioritize investments in energy efficiency.
• Set payback parameters to qualify energy efficiency initiatives.
• Establish campus-wide standards for equipment efficiencies (computers and office equipment, food service equipment, and lab equipment).
• Investigate funding and financing tools to reward/monetize emissions reduction.
• Improve energy efficiency in new
construction by 30 to 50 percent over the baseline.
• Install occupancy sensors and more efficient lighting in new and existing buildings.
• Optimize laboratory energy use with high efficiency fume hoods.
• Renovate 8 percent of existing buildings to improve energy efficiency by 26 percent over the baseline.
• Retrofit commission the remaining existing buildings to optimize performance.
• Purchase green power to accelerate the progress towards carbon neutrality.
3. Ensure a range of transportation options.
“We will minimize transportation demands to and from campus and continue to incorporate alternative fuels in the campus fleet. We will work with the Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance, Central Indiana Commuter Services, and IndyGo to encourage increased use of carpooling and public transportation by IUPUI students and employees and we will work with Central Indiana Bicycling Association, Indy Greenways and similar programs to encourage bicycling as a commuter option. ” - 2008 Adopted Campus Sustainability Principles
86% of IUPUI’s total campus population live more than three miles from campus. 95% of the total population drive to campus, while 87% drive alone. 22% of students actually live
Bicycle Sharing
• Simplify transit runs and select vehicles for short headways and passenger convenience.
• Convert one-way streets to two-way streets to improve campus bus travel times and convenience.
• Improve inter-campus and intra-campus transit, including direct connections to the larger academic medical center campus.
• Connect campus shuttle routes to IndyGo routes at common stops.
• Integrate and connect bike parking, transit stops, parking garages and People Mover stations.
• Increase density of central campus to increase pedestrian walkability.
• Develop and implement Transportation Demand Management strategies to reduce future parking demand—parking pricing, bicycle sharing, marketing for carpooling and Guaranteed Ride Home programs, and car-sharing.
• Work with IndyGo and IU Health to revise regional transit routes that directly serve campus and IU Health destinations.
IUPUI People Mover
within three miles of the campus, yet 86% still drive alone. In addition, more than 20% move their car on campus during the day, and 50% of students circulate through multiple lots before finding a parking spot. All of this underscores the fact that IUPUI is still a heavily commuter campus. The Campus Master Plan proposes multiple solutions that help reduce the almost exclusive reliance on the private automobile on campus, including new campus bus routes, adding bike lanes and bike paths, encouraging carpooling, and increased use of the People Mover. Conversion of one-way streets to two- way will also make campus transit more efficient and convenient. Increased student housing on campus and more compact development will encouraging walking rather than driving to class.
Sustainabilty Principle 3 Recommendations
• Increase the use of lower impact modes of transportation and alternative fuel vehicles in lieu of reliance on single occupancy vehicles.
• Create pedestrian and bicycle priority on campus.
• For academic medical and research facilities, target strategies for reducing process water by at least 10% for water intensive equipment.
Sustainability Principle 4 Recommendations
• Design buildings for daylight harvesting without unwanted heat gain or glare.
• Orient (and pitch) roofs for solar thermal and photovoltaic applications (immediate or future).
• Site buildings for microclimate characteristics such as cooling summer breezes, protection against winter winds, sunlight, and shade.
• Site vegetative and landscaping features to create beneficial local microclimates to minimize energy and water usage in campus buildings.
• Install meters to create a thorough database of existing campus building energy
(electricity, chilled water, and steam) and water use.
• Use efficient plumbing fixtures in new construction.
• Retrofit existing plumbing fixtures, especially in residential facilities.
• Consider graywater capture and re-use in new construction.
• Systematically identify and remedy leaks.
4. Plan for Innovative Sustainable Buildings and Landscapes.
“We will seek to design, build, restore and manage our facilities and grounds through the use of sustainable materials and practices. Total life cycle costs, energy use, and impact on the environment are other important factors that will influence selection of materials and practices.” - 2008 Adopted Campus Sustainability Principles
The Campus Master Plan anticipates that over three million gross square feet (GSF) of new buildings will be constructed, and a number of older, inefficient buildings will be demolished. This is an ideal time to establish standards of sustainable design to guide this new development. The University has set LEED®
certification as a benchmark to be considered for all new construction. In addition, the Campus Master Plan outlines strategies to build on the significant past water conservation initiatives to further reduce potable water use by 35 percent over today’s use, even while increasing the overall built square footage on campus.
View North of IUPUI Campus