Prospects for University Territories: The Rural University of Sao Paulo in Pirassununga

The specific characteristics of the university territories vary, among other determinants, according to their location in relation to the city. Most of the studies refers to the typical American, suburban or part-town campus, or the institutions located in the urban plot. The university territories situated in the rural environment, interconnected to this reality, set up a separate category, with its own specific characteristics. A particular case will be taken, the Campus Fernando Costa of the University of Sao Paulo in Pirassununga, a city of the state of Sao Paulo, as the basis for presenting some perspectives for sustainable development for this category of university territories. The Campus Fernando Costa, founded in the years 1940, has 2240 hectares, 800 of them in areas of preservation and almost 120,000 m(2) of constructed area. In it are courses linked to the rural environment, there are areas devoted to experimental and productive farming, besides the other structures typical of the public universities at Sao Paulo State (housing, restaurant, administration, academic areas). It is significant the potential of a university territory in rural environment for the experience and application of sustainable development processes. The case of USP Campus at Pirassununga is exemplary and we believe it can be useful to other institutions in rural areas, especially in Brazil and Latin America.