This summer, a new school will begin rising in the Bay Area city of Emeryville that redefines the relationship between a K-12 school and its surrounding community.
"In the 10,000-person Bay Area city of Emeryville, California, architecture and design firm MKThink is teaming up with Concordia and DSK to create what the developers call 'a full service community, where the school district and city work cooperatively to improve access to learning and opportunities to all members of the community through a highly coordinated City/School partnership,'" writes Ariel Schwartz. "In short: a community center that doubles as a secondary school."
"The Emeryville Center of Community Life, a 150,000 square foot, $80 million project that breaks ground this summer, will be a K-12 school harboring facilities that are designed to be used constantly, and not just by students."
"The local community contributed heavily to the school design," adds Schwartz.
"I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and there’s never been a project that I’m aware of that has required and gone through such an open and transparent communication process with the community," says Steve Kelley, the cofounder of MKThink. "Usually when a school does a project, they hire an architect to design buildings that satisfy the school district, and they’re not obligated to share it with the community. This was set up to be as much about the process as the product."
FULL STORY: This Is What It Looks Like When A School Becomes A Community Hub
Identifying and Improving Schools Most In Need of Greening
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has developed an index to help identify the schools that are most in need of greening resources.
Walking to School on the Rise Across America
A new report from the National Center for Safe Routes to School finds that the percentage of students walking to and from school "increased significantly" between 2007 and 2012.
Plans Unveiled for Copenhagen's City of Children
This week brought news that sounds closer to a fairy tale. A new preschool and daycare center in the Danish capital has been designed as a real-life Neverland for children to explore their interests in contributing to city life.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
How Transit Architecture Impacts Real and Perceived Safety
More than a third of Americans believe major transit systems are too unsafe to ride. The built environment can change that.
New York Passes Housing Package Focused on New Development and Adaptive Reuse
The FY 2025 budget includes a new tax incentive, funding for affordable housing on state land, and support for adaptive reuse and ADUs.
LA Metro Board Approves New 710 Freeway Plan
The newest plan for the 710 corridor claims it will not displace any residents.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.
