Advocates for increasing green space on school campuses say giving students a more healthy outdoor environment can also reduce the urban heat island effect and improve public health in historically underserved communities.

According to an article by Tony Barboza, "too many children are forced to learn and play in paved-over, fenced-in and often treeless campuses that draw apt comparisons to prison yards or parking lots."
"These conditions are detrimental to learning, health and well-being, and especially harmful because they are so common in the same low-income communities of color that already suffer from a lack of tree canopy, park space and higher exposure to heat and pollution." To address this issue, Los Angeles Unified School District’s new superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, "has promised to release a plan within his first 100 days to green schoolyards, starting with asphalt-dominated campuses in neighborhoods with the greatest need for open space."
The new superintendent isn't the first to notice this problem. Last year, Planetizen reported on the Trust for Public Land's analysis of urban schoolyards and their potential to double as much-needed green space in park-poor communities. "Advocacy groups say that despite some success at individual school sites, district and state bureaucracy is a barrier to removing asphalt from school campuses across the city, sometimes because of concerns about increased maintenance costs or due to space requirements for activities like basketball, tetherball and four square that restrict the number of trees and amount landscaping that can be planted."
Barboza points out that converting LAUSD's schoolyards, at less than $2 million per campus, would cost less than building a new park, and argues that the benefits of healthy, green environments outweigh the investment required.
FULL STORY: LA's asphalt-covered schoolyards are an environmental injustice

The End of Single-Family Zoning in Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is the latest jurisdiction in the country to effectively end single-family zoning.

‘Train Daddy’ Andy Byford to Oversee Amtrak’s High-Speed Rail Efforts
Byford, who formerly ran NYC Transit and Transport for London, could bring renewed vigor to the agency’s plans to expand regional rail in the United States.

Seattle Bus Lane Cameras Capture Over 100,000 Violations
An automated traffic enforcement pilot program caught drivers illegally using transit lanes more than 110,000 times in less than a year.

Immigration Grows, Population Drops in Many U.S. Counties
International immigration to the country’s most populous areas tripled even as major metropolitan areas continued to lose population.

$616 Million in Development Incentives Approved for District Detroit
The “Transformational Brownfield” incentives approved by the Detroit City Council for the $1.5 billion District Detroit still require approval by the state.

Affordable Housing Development Rejected for Lack of Third Staircase in Connecticut
The New Canaan Planning Commission rejected a development proposal, including 31 below-market-rate apartments, for lack of a third staircase, among other reasons, at a time when advocates are pushing to relax two-staircase requirements.
Houston-Galveston Area Council
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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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