UCSD Ridge Walk Landscape Improvements

Once the clearest and most direct north-south route along the coast, Ridge Walk has evolved from a linear coastal highway to an episodic pedestrian corridor through the campus. Its significance as a ridge along the coastal bluff and its past function as part of the Pacific Coast Highway present a great story in the evolution and interpretation of its place on the UCSD campus. After a half century of campus growth, the resulting form of Ridge Walk was a combination of direct and meandering segments. The transitions between the two are not always clear, at times compromising the integrity of this north-south campus connection. This project was an opportunity to restore the legibility of the Ridge Walk corridor, acknowledging its formal and functional history, while also improving clarity, access, vitality, and comfort.

Recognizing that the campus is becoming a vibrant, livable urban community, this project proudly puts the landscape architect profession in the forefront to lead the call to support the campus’s evolution and to strengthen the identity of Ridge Walk as a major campus spine while retaining historic elements and individuality within neighborhoods to achieve a reinvigorated and enriching campus experience.