The goal of sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present community without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development should enable long term economic growth and contribute to community social harmony without degrading environmental quality. Sustainable development principles for land use includes several strategies:

• Compact, transit-oriented development
• Mixed-use development that emphasizes walking and biking
• In-fill development and the reuse of brownfields sites
• Urban and village growth boundaries to separate growth areas from the countryside and to reinforce the sense of place
• Greenways – linear paths and corridors – to connect cities and towns to the countryside and to each other
• Low density development in the countryside
• Purchase and transfer of development rights, along with preferential property taxation, to encourace rural landowners to keep their land open

The principles of sustainable development are very well suited to the university campus community where the built environment primarily revolves around pedestrian uses and creates a distinct sense of place by the extensive park-like landscaping surrounding the campus. Efficient use of remaining open lands along with a high density form of development ensures a balance between intensive land use and the protection of important environmental qualities that the Western campus possesses.