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The spatial configuration and publicness of the university campus: interaction, discovery, and display on De Uithof in Utrecht

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Abstract

This paper explores different degrees and forms of publicness and their relationship with the spatial configuration of a university campus. Based on a literature review, the concept of ‘publicness’ is developed to describe the dimensions of ‘interaction,’ ‘discovery,’ and ‘display’ on campus. The area selected for the case study is De Uithof campus of Utrecht University, located outside the urban fabric in a green environment. Spatial configuration analysis reveals that the two public spaces most-often used by students have high global and local integration scores as well as medium visibility scores. This promises much potential for the production of publicness in both spaces, whereas student surveys revealed some rather substantial differences in publicness between them. Acknowledging detailed differences in terms of physical design, functional facilities, and social composition enables an explanation for why the Academic Hospital Utrecht space lives up more the potential of publicness production than the Heidelberglaan space.

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Notes

  1. Based on a four-point Likert scaling technique (ranging from 0 to 3), the average scores were calculated for each statement.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by TUBITAK, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, (2214 Research Grant).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architecture, Izmir Institute of Technology, Gülbahçe, İzmir, Turkey

    Berna Yaylali-Yildiz

  2. Faculty of Geosciences, Department of Human Geography, Urban & Regional Planning, Utrecht University, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Bas Spierings

  3. Department of Architecture, Izmir Institute of Technology, İyte Gülbahçe Kampüsü, 35430, Urla, İzmir, Turkey

    Ela Çil

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  1. Berna Yaylali-Yildiz
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  3. Ela Çil
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Correspondence to Berna Yaylali-Yildiz.

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Yaylali-Yildiz, B., Spierings, B. & Çil, E. The spatial configuration and publicness of the university campus: interaction, discovery, and display on De Uithof in Utrecht. Urban Des Int 27, 80–94 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41289-020-00130-w

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