The neighborhood, whose opening predates Irvine's city-hood by five years,[2] was envisioned to attract buyers from a wide range of demographics and was designed to offer various housing types to meet the diverse needs of its target residents.

[3] Designed in collaboration with Peter Walker, Dick Law, and Kalvin Platt of Sasaki, Walker and Associates, the neighborhood utilized the Garden City approach to planning by designing clusters of homes to face publicly-accessible park areas and greenbelts tucked away from principal roadways in order to create a lower dependence on automobiles.

At the time of its construction, the neighborhoods's planning concepts were considered experimental, such as the use of rectangular cul-de-sacs containing greenery in the center.

University Park comprises multiple neighborhoods and associations[6] and contains a high concentration of community facilities and amenities.

In addition to its greenbelts and bikeways, the neighborhood contains community facilities, parks, schools, religious institutions, a library, commercial centers, adjacency to open space and recreational areas, and access to transportation.