University of Virginia Library

Council Cites Psychological Faults

possible. The report states that this
hope will undoubtedly, "run into
the objections of planners who
claim, and indeed can prove, that
the Birdwood tract can maintain
18,000 students."

"How can the argument of
social desirability match the
mathematical computations of
experts?" asks the committee. "If
the University cannot withstand the
pressure for growth in a geographic
area that is saturated (i.e. the
central Grounds), how can we
possibly withstand the pressure to
expand in an area of land that is
used to only one-sixth of its
capacity?"

After advocating the
consideration of the Duke tract for
the colleges, the committee warns,
"These positive and negative
considerations should not be
overlooked in a mad rush to
develop housing and academic
centers in a residential college."

The report notes that the sense
of community originally fostered
by Thomas Jefferson's "academical
village", designed around the Lawn
and Ranges, has since its
conception, lost much of its nature
as a residential college.

The committee calls for a
public, high-speed, mass
transportation system and a ban on
autos commuting to the central
Grounds on the basis of
environmental and aesthetic
considerations, as well as the
present crowding of the Grounds.

Referring to the controversy
over the University's plans to
construct an access road through
the Bellair subdivision of the city,
the committee states, "the
University has an obligation and
responsibility to avoid disturbing
the nature of existing and
established communities
-particularly when there are viable
alternatives."