Unlocking Ideas for Re-Purposing America's Prisons

The good news - America is closing its prisons. The bad news - America is closing its prisons. Emily Badger asks how "all these empty, peculiar and often isolated buildings" can be reused.

2 minute read

December 6, 2012, 12:00 PM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


After decades of continuous growth, America's prison population declined in 2009, and has continued to decline since, owing to "a fundamental shift in thinking about prisons by the public, politicians and public safety professionals." In turn, it will be the job of designers, planners, and public officials to think about just what can be done with the dozens of prisons - which "were built to be bedrock-secure" and "to serve a purpose unlike any other building genre" - now being closed across the country.

"There are a handful of examples already in the U.S. of historic urban facilities more easily repurposed, or prisons and jails converted into the low-hanging fruit of the reuse field: mini-storage facilities for stuff instead of people," notes Badger. But many of these facilities were built in rural communities. Finding a new use for them will be a particular challenge.

DNA labs; server farms; offsite homes for museum collections - these are just some of the ideas being explored. Yet, says Badger, "[e]ducational facilities in rural communities might be one of the best ideas."

"Rural towns were often sold on prisons as a kind of economic stimulus. They represented not criminals coming to town, but jobs, and just as manufacturing and agricultural work was disappearing. Today, prison closings offer an opportunity to rethink the economies of these places, and to thoughtfully include local communities in the planning process in a way that did not happen when these mega-facilities were sighted there in the first place."

Thursday, December 6, 2012 in The Atlantic Cities

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of front of blue locomotive with Amtrak logo.

What the US Intercity Rail System Could Look Like

An FRA study shows how new Amtrak lines could connect tens of millions more Americans to rail travel.

January 30, 2025 - Fast Company

The Seat of Government

Good Planning Under Bad Leadership

Planners must sometimes work under bad leadership. Here are suggestions for responsive planning in challenging political environments.

February 3, 2025 - Todd Litman

Amtrak train with downtown Seattle in background.

Amtrak Cascades Line Breaks Ridership Record

The route linking Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC served nearly one million riders in 2024.

February 2, 2025 - Daily Hive

View of wooded area and homes in Altadena, California with hills and downtown Los Angeles, California in the distance.

Half of Altadena’s Black Homes Lost or Damaged in Eaton Fire

The community has higher Black homeownership rates than most of Los Angeles, but now faces an uncertain future as residents struggle to rebuild.

February 9 - The Guardian

Low view of person with vision impairment cane walking through crosswalk.

Making Autonomous Vehicles Safer for Blind Pedestrians

A team of researchers is developing a dataset to fill a critical gap in self-driving cars’ learning models.

February 9 - University of Maryland

Row of vehicles parked and plugged in at EV charging station.

Federal EV Charging Program Suspended

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program planned to fund the construction of hundreds of EV charging stations across the country.

February 9 - Wired

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.