University of the Fraser Valley community design guidelines
Happy Cities created new community design guidelines for the University of the Fraser Valley, outlining strategies for a resilient, socially connected development on the Abbotsford Campus.
A sketch of what the new Abbotsford campus development could look like. (UFV Properties Trust)
Located just east of Vancouver, the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) is a fully accredited, public university that enrolls approximately 15,000 students per year. UFV has campuses and locations in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, and Hope—and a growing presence in Chandigarh, India.
UFV Properties Trust was launched in 2023 to oversee the development of under-utilized lands on the Abbotsford and Chilliwack campuses, and is currently planning for a new, mixed-use development on the Abbotsford campus. Happy Cities worked with University of the Fraser Valley Properties Trust (Campus Communities) to develop a unique set of Community Design Guidelines for its first residential community on the Abbotsford Campus.
About the community design guidelines
The UFV Community Design Guidelines are a set of strategies to ensure that all planning and design decisions support future community wellbeing and social connection. The community design guidelines will serve as a means to:
Inform future requests for proposals;
Help assess planning, design, architecture, and landscape architecture for the site; and
Help advocate for community-oriented design features during approval processes with the City of Abbotsford.
The guidelines are organized into four realms—neighbourhood, building, units, and programming, and policy, recognizing the varying scales that need to work together when building a socially resilient community. The design guidelines intentionally integrate a combination of design, programming, and policy strategies, using evidence-based best practices and design strategies to design for a walkable, livable, and socially connected community.
This project was informed by input from the University of the Fraser Valley community. Happy Cities held a half-day workshop with students, faculty, and staff to understand community priorities.
The guiding principles were developed with the community to inform the priorities and intentions behind the Guidelines. (Happy Cities)
In 2025, we are hosting follow-up workshops with smaller community groups to share the guidelines and ensure that the design team captures community priorities and perspectives. As UFV Properties Trust sets out to develop its first community on the Abbotsford Campus, these Community Design Guidelines aim to inform planning and design decisions that support future community wellbeing and social connection.
A sketch of what the new Abbotsford campus development could look like. (UFV Properties Trust)
