Campus plan ready – outlines direction for continued development of campus in Växjö

Today, the University Board approved the plan for Linnaeus University’s campus in Växjö. The campus plan is a collaboration between Växjö municipality and Linnaeus University. The municipal board approved the plan this Tuesday, which means that an agreement is now in place for the continued development of the physical environment on and around campus in Växjö.

“Campus is important in order to attract students to Linnaeus University in Växjö and it is also important for our municipality that the students are part of the city. Now that we have a common campus plan in place with a common direction, this work will become clearer for all involved parties at future investments”, says Anna Tenje (M), chair of the municipal board.

A few examples of what has been agreed on in the plan:

• In order to integrate campus with the city and to strengthen Teleborg centrum as a meeting place for both students and other people living in Växjö, the aim is to work to make Teleborgsvägen a city street.
• Develop PG Vejdes väg into a more evident campus entrance and make the pathway towards Universitetsplatsen clearer with more meeting places and other functions. Universitetsplatsen will become a car-free zone, but the bus traffic will remain. As new buildings come into place, more parking places will also be constructed.
• New student accommodation will be constructed along PG Vejdes väg and, in the long term, at Tufvan and along Teleborgsvägen, when this becomes a city street.
• Videum Science Park and the innovative trade and industry will get the opportunity to develop through natural meeting places that strengthen the links to the university’s facilities and its students.
• Meadows and parks will be preserved and developed into meeting places for students. Avenues and trees will be preserved to ensure that campus is green and offers good conditions for biodiversity.

“It feels great that we now have a new campus plan in place that clarifies and makes possible the development of our Växjö campus’s qualities as a meeting place for students, researchers, the surrounding community, and the trade and industry. Through this plan, we can develop physical environments where we can set knowledge in motion for a sustainable societal development within education, research, and collaboration”, says Peter Aronsson, vice-chancellor at Linnaeus University.

Växjö municipality and Linnaeus University will now establish an action plan for the different actions that are described in the campus plan.

Background

In August 2019, the municipal board commissioned the establishment of a campus plan. Since then, Växjö municipality and Linnaeus University, together with Linnaeus Union and a number of property owners, have established areas of development that form the basis for the proposal. The campus plan is based on the visions of the different actors, partly concerning development of the physical environment and Växjö as a university city, and partly on strategies concerning the development of Linnaeus University and its knowledge environments.

During the autumn, students, property owners and authorities have been given the opportunity to submit comments on the proposal at a consultation.