EDITORIAL: Getting enough room to grow

Improvement, not encroachment, is the hallmark of Rodin's solid long-term development plan. Administrators are seeking input from the people and services that may be affected by the University's future expansion. This marks a stark contrast from Penn's last great wave of development, during the 1960s. Then, the primary strategy was bull-dozing and strong-arming neighborhood skeptics and critics, subsuming important arguments to the greater good of development and urban renewal. Additionally, the focus of these plans is revitalizing and blurring the boundaries that currently separate Penn from Center City to the east and University City to the west. By enlarging the area that students consider campus, especially east and south toward the Schuylkill River, the University may entice graduate students who have moved downtown to live closer to their classes -- and to the undergraduates who could learn from them. Third, the University is looking to acquire either underused land (the parking lot behind the 30th Street Post Office) or buildings already available for sale (the Civic Center). For this reason, none of the problems and enmity that arise with lop-sided claims of rights by virtue of size should accompany future expansion. Undoubtedly, campus will look much different when we return for our 10- and 25-year reunions. But if changes are gradual and carefully considered, they will ultimately be for the better.