I’m not really a city person ­— well, a big city person, that is. I grew up in a bedroom community with a pleasant mix of town and country. I like the semi-rural and pastoral atmosphere with the convenience of a grocery store or two. Unfortunately, convenience often encroaches upon green places. Pavement displaces grass, and the streams are diverted.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not what you would consider a Green Party member; I do favor some development, of course, and I am always very skeptical of proposals that forbid property owners from cutting down trees on their own land, however much I may dislike it when they do. But I’d rather have a few less dams and few more wild rivers, if that’s understandable. The Grand Coulee Dam, for example, provides vast amounts of clean electricity, but it destroyed the salmon runs further upstream because it lacks a fish ladder.

I hear so much about green energy and green products, and I am quite aware of how committed the UW is to providing biodegradable everything. Still, I can’t help but knit my brows when I see so many green items and so few green spaces. Bricks and asphalt and concrete and steel — all of them crowding into the campus and filling up all the plots that used to be lawns bothers me. We have not escaped the drive for convenience and have sacrificed some of the beauty of the campus.

Part of the college experience, at least ideally, is being able to study in beautiful surroundings, which include both beautiful buildings and beautiful spaces. It is evident from the various architectural styles around campus that concern over aesthetic construction has not always been primary with new buildings. Simply compare the neo-gothic Quad to Condon Hall or Balmer Hall.

Thankfully, we are moving away a little from the utilitarian designs on the outside of the buildings, though the insides are still rather bland. Mary Gates Hall is definitely a step in the right direction. Still, I’d prefer fewer buildings on campus. It’s crowded already and is taking on more of a city feel. It’s unfair to say, probably, but it’s almost as if the Ave is spilling over into the university, and not the other way around.

I’ve seen this drive for convenience firsthand. My hometown fought off developers who wanted to build a Walmart, and it seriously considered not allowing a McDonald’s to be built, only conceding after extracting a promise that McDonald’s would not put up any large signs or its characteristic golden arches. I have nothing against McDonald’s or Walmart, and I understand that they provide jobs and inexpensive products, but they do take away from the feel of the community sometimes, particularly in small towns.

Alas, my hometown, which took such a firm stance against Walmart a few years later, did an abrupt about-face. It started simply and reasonably with a Target and an Albertsons, but now it has everything — except Walmart. Where there was one McDonald’s, there are now two. Where there were once a few acres of woodland next to the library, now there are high-end luxury shops and restaurants. All kinds of goods and services are available to us now, but at the expense of the last forrested remnants of a quiet village.

I’d implore the regents, then — if any of them read this — to please contain any urges they may have to fill up what’s left of the open space on campus with more buildings. Instead, look to tear down buildings, and try to buy more property in the already-urbanized U-District if expansion is desired. I know that many want to see the UW as a “green” campus, but could we also have a green campus?

Reach columnist Thomas Cloud at opinion@dailyuw.com.