University of California, Davis
IN-1: Innovation 1

UC Davis West Village is a new campus neighborhood located on UC Davis land adjacent to the core campus in Davis, California. It is designed to enable faculty, staff and students to live near campus, take advantage of environmentally friendly transportation options, and participate fully in campus life. UC Davis West Village ultimately will be an approximately 200-acre development with nearly 3,000 students and approximately 500 single family houses for faculty and staff. Apartments for the first 800 students opened in August 2011 and approximately 500 students will occupy the next round of apartments slated to open in August 2012. Deep energy efficiency measures combined with onsite solar photovoltaic energy generation will achieve the goal of zero net energy from the grid on an annual basis for these apartments. The faculty and staff housing are about a year away. Full build out of the community will occur over the next several years. The design and implementation of UC Davis West Village is founded on three core principles: • Housing Availability - New housing options will enable faculty and staff to purchase new homes locally, at below market prices, and will expand the choices for students to live near campus. • Environmental Responsiveness - Sustainable design of the site and the buildings will reduce reliance on cars, limit energy consumption, enable energy production, and contribute to a healthy environment. • Quality of Place - A network of open spaces, parks, gardens, pathways and courtyards will provide the attributes and character of traditional Davis neighborhoods. Unique Features: • UC Davis West Village is the largest planned zero net energy community in the United States. It is on track to demonstrate, for the first time, that zero net energy is practical on a large scale. • The $280 million project is made possible by an innovative public-private partnership; it is supported with nearly $7.5 million in federal and state grants to study zero net energy systems. • Energy efficiency measures have reduced projected energy demand by approximately 50 percent as compared to current building code requirements. Renewable energy will meet the remaining energy needs on an annual basis. • The project draws on the expertise of UC Davis faculty and research centers for selecting deep energy efficiency measures and implementing renewable energy generation. • UC Davis has partnered with Sacramento City College, Davis Center to create the first community college center on a UC campus. • Located west of the core campus, ease of pedestrian, bicycle and transit access to the main campus and greater community. The community is served by Unitrans, the campus-city bus service, and as UC Davis West Village matures, residents may not purchase a parking permit on campus. • UC Davis West Village will be a “living learning laboratory” as residents experience firsthand the benefits of reducing consumption through energy efficiency, conscientiously managing their own use of electricity, and harnessing the sun's energy to power their life.