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Published December 2023
We here at Appalachian State University are familiar with the fact that our beloved town and campus sits high up in the Blue Ridge Mountains—it’s only plastered on countless shirts, posters, and souvenirs. We love it, of course! Being the highest elevated university east of the Mississippi River gives us striking views, wonderful climate, and the inspiration for our identity of mountaineers.
This little corner of America, tucked within a valley formed all the way back during the tumultuous formation of the Pangea supercontinent, is special. There are few places like it, and there is not that much of it to go around. Yet, within the small space of Boone, ASU continues to expand and the student population perpetually increases. The ballooning of the university is staggering. Over the past half century the campus enveloped more and more of the surrounding area, while the number of students more than doubled.
Aerial view of ASU campus, downtown Boone, and Rich Mountain. Photo scanned from Campus Plan: 10000
Where does this growth come from? Since the 1960s, the leaders of the university have been well aware of the potential for massive growth. In this era, the university underwent massive changes culminating in the transition from Appalachian State Teacher’s College to the Appalachian State University in 1967. The university's change from a teacher's college to a State University came with a vision of expansion. In 1962, the university published reports detailing the projected growth rate for the university which they hoped to put into action to develop the infrastructure to support an ever-growing student body.
Graph presented in Campus Plan: 10000 shows that number of students had been increasing by 1970 and was projected to keep rising.
In Campus Plan: 10000 and 2000-2010 Campus Master Plan, we can see the cognizance with which the university acted knowing the extant to which the App State's campus encroached on the surrounding lands. Of course, there is an incentive for this expansion. The University of North Carolina system awards more funding when a state university enrolls more students. To keep receiving funds, App State must enroll increasing numbers of students. More students put pressure on the university to build more infrastructure. If the past decades are anything to base the next few on, student and campus growth will continue.
This graph, taken from "UNC Enrollment Funding," visually illustrates the incentives that North Carolina public universities have to grow their student populations.
Cover of 2000-2010 Campus Mater Plan.
The growing student body puts pressures on the community, many of which the town of Boone is not ready to properly handle. For over half a century, the people of the town and university have struggled to find affordable housing. In 2022, The Appalachian reported on numerous students, staff, and others who were forced to find homes outside of the city limits as prices and scarcity continue to pose insurmountable obstacles for some. Boone is becoming untenable for many local residents, let alone students, faculty, and staff. Even still, campus is planned to grow more! We know that even as many people are being pushed out, we must make room for many more to come in. We must remember that Boone is not just App State. What does this constant growth and alteration to the community and mountain mean for all of us?
You can visualize the human impact on our beloved mountain community. Think of Howard’s Knob, that beautiful ancient mountain that stands 1,000 feet above downtown Boone. Howard’s Knob sits 4,396 feet above sea level. If we were to take the average height of all the students at App State and then picture them standing on top of each other, we would have a tower of students 112,925 feet high. That’s 25.6 Howard’s Knobs!
Photo courtesy of the Watauga Democrat
Howard's Knob, Boone, NC.
We should note that this number does not reflect mass, volume, or several other measurements that many of our geologically-minded friends might point to. Nonetheless, this visualization is staggering. The graph shows that the human impact on our area has grown beyond what our mountains can provide. Before adding a few more Howard’s Knobs of students, perhaps we should think about what all this growth and expansion means for us as a university, community, and an environment. Yet, judging by the momentum of the past five decades and the funding motivations for public universities in North Carolina, we should not be surprised if ASU sees continued and sustained growth in the coming years. This knowledge should lead us to think more sustainably and empathetically as the university goes through even more expansions.
Learn more about historical housing problems in Boone
Learn more about how population growth impacts sustainability
The top diagram, taken from Campus Plan: 10000, depicts ASU's campus and the surrounding areas of Boone in 1970.
The bottom diagram from 2000-2010 Campus Mater Plan portrays the growth of the built environment assocaited with the rising student population from 1970 to 2000.
Take a look at these maps showing the increasing population of Boone. The black dots on these maps represent buildings. You can see the density and spread of the dots increase over time as the Boone's population increased.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Appalachian State University. 2000-2010 Campus Mater Plan. Charlotte, NC: Lee Nichols Architecture, 2000.
United States Census Bureau. “QuickFacts, Boone Towne, North Carolina.” Accessed September 27, 2023. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/boonetownnorthcarolina/PST045222.
University of North Carolina. "UNC Enrollment Funding." Accessed Novemebr 22, 2023. https://www.northcarolina.edu/apps/bog/doc.php?id=57624&code=bog.
Webb, James M.. Campus Plan Proposal for 10,000 Enrollment, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1971. [s.n. https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy006.nclive.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat04042a&AN=app.b1542183&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Secondary Sources
Gentry, Connie. “Boone’s Thorny Housing Squeeze.” Business North Carolina. August 1, 2022. https://businessnc.com/boones-thorny-housing-squeeze/.
Hunt, Ethan, and Megan Pettey. “‘We Would Have Been Homeless’: Residents Reflect on Boone’s Housing.” The Appalachian (blog). April 19, 2022. https://theappalachianonline.com/we-would-have-been-homeless-residents-reflect-on-boones-housing/.
Markland, Jake, and Hollie Moore. “Faculty, Community Seek Boone Overcrowding Solutions.” The Appalachian. November 9, 2021. https://theappalachianonline.com/faculty-community-seek-boone-overcrowding-solutions/.
Stump, Jessica. "App State Enrolls 20,436 for Fall 2022, Most Diverse Student Body in School History." October 12, 2022. https://today.appstate.edu/2022/10/12/enrollment.
U.S. News and World Report.“Appalachian State University Student Life.” Accessed September 27, 2023. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/appalachian-state-2906/student-life.
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