Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/3383
Date of Award
6-2026
Degree Name
Master of City and Regional Planning
Department/Program
City and Regional Planning
College
College of Architecture and Environmental Design
Advisor
Adrienne Greve
Advisor Department
City and Regional Planning
Advisor College
College of Architecture and Environmental Design
Abstract
As higher education institutions increasingly mandate on-campus living to foster student success, the built environment becomes a critical determinant of daily mobility. California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) is transitioning to a two-year residency requirement and tightening vehicle restrictions. This thesis evaluates how the spatial and built-environment realities of peripheral housing complexes in Cerro Vista Apartments and Poly Canyon Village shape student transportation satisfaction and utilization, and emergency evacuation preparedness.
Employing a mixed-methods approach, this research triangulates data from 79 student surveys and 10 semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that supplementing traditional metrics of proximity with localized spatial data presents a strong opportunity to enhance campus mobility. Infrastructural discontinuities, perceived isolation, and inadequate lighting along key routes act as soft deterrents to active transportation. The study also identifies opportunities in wildfire evacuation protocols, which rely heavily on constrained routes.
The conclusions emphasize that university housing should be treated as an integrated ecosystem rather than a purely logistical operation. To align the physical campus with the University’s active transportation and student wellness goals, this research recommends decentralizing essential resources through various means, including satellite mail and grocery hubs. It advocates for the formalization of informal pedestrian paths, the integration of subsidized micro-mobility networks, and the data-driven overhaul of emergency plans to ensure institutional readiness and life safety.