By RUTH SCHUBERT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

More than anything else, the U-District is molded by the presence of the University of Washington, which sprawls over more than one-third of the land.

The UW brings in hordes of students, giving the neighborhood its young orientation. The intellectual and artistic life of the campus is reflected in the cultural events, galleries, bookstores and films on and around the university.

When fall semester starts Sept. 29, the mile-square campus will fill to overflowing with more than 35,000 students and 16,000 faculty and staffers.

But relations haven't always been warm between the surrounding neighborhoods and the giant in their midst.

University enrollment soared from 7,000 students in 1945 to more than 18,000 just 15 years later, spurred by a booming economy and the opportunities offered by the GI Bill.

Added enrollment prompted the need for more space, and the university added 60 acres by 1971, bringing the campus to nearly 640 acres. Homes and businesses were torn down as thoroughfares and marine sciences buildings pushed south to Portage Bay. The ill will created by the changes lingered for decades.

The university has reached out more lately, largely through Christine Knowles, who for eight years served as the UW's director of community affairs.

"There wasn't a strong dialogue," says Knowles of her early years in the job. "They were kind of nursing old wounds that went back 30 years."

Knowles, who stepped down last spring, immersed herself in community meetings and opened discussions. When concerned business owners and community members decided it was time to map out a redevelopment plan for the Ave, the university was at the table.

Continued:

• Young, vibrant, hard to pigeonhole
• Around these parts, the family homeowner is in the minority
• Balance sought in future growth