Schools
School-to-housing Conversions are the Fastest-growing Sector of Adaptive Reuse
In 2024, former schools were redeveloped into almost 2,000 apartments.
San Diego School District Backtracks on Teacher Housing Proposal
After receiving more than a dozen proposals from developers, the district’s board failed to reach a decision or issue further guidance to potential builders.
Teachers Make 5% Less Than a Decade Ago. These Districts are Building Housing for Them
The housing crisis is hitting education workers particularly hard, making it difficult to find housing near their workplaces.
An Ohio School District is Known for its Walkability. A District Overhaul is Jeopardizing That.
Lakewood plans to close some schools and consolidate students to a centralized early education center, eliminating years of work that created safe walking routes to neighborhood schools.
Cincinnati School District Shifts Students to Public Transit to Cut Costs
Over 10,000 Cincinnati Public Schools students already use public buses for school transportation each year.
Alabama School Forestry Initiative Brings Trees to Schoolyards
Trees can improve physical and mental health for students and commnity members.
Greening Oakland’s School Grounds
With help from community partners like the Trust for Public Land, Oakland Unified School District is turning barren, asphalt-covered schoolyards into vibrant, green spaces that support outdoor learning, play, and student well-being.
Advancing Sustainability in Los Angeles County Schools
The Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Green Schools Symposium brings together educators, students, and experts to advance sustainability in schools through innovative design, climate resilience strategies, and collaborative learning.
Pittsburgh Rolls Out Electric School Buses
Pittsburgh Public Schools has launched its first electric school buses, with plans to fully electrify its fleet over the next 14 months, aiming to create a cleaner, more sustainable transportation system supported by new charging infrastructure.
Concrete to Community: A Schoolyard Makeover in West Philly
With guidance from the Trust for Public Land, third graders at Overbrook Elementary are leading the redesign of their asphalt schoolyard into a vibrant green space, learning valuable skills and creating lasting community impact in the process.
San Diego School District Approves Affordable Housing Plan
The district plans to build workforce housing for 10 percent of its employees in the next decade and explore other ways to contribute to housing development.
Phoenix Facilitates School-to-Affordable Housing Development
Two Phoenix school districts are selling their underused properties to build over 200 units of affordable housing.
Cities and Test Scores
The latest test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress suggests that student learning has not recovered from its COVID-era decline. Is this more true for urban school districts than for the rest of the United States?
Did Brookings Get It Wrong?
A recent Brookings study on the 2020 homicide wave tells a simple story: unemployment plus closed schools plus guns equals crime. But is the story accurate?
Repurposing Vacant Schools
Some communities are turning abandoned campuses into offices, art studios, and housing.
A Better Way to Plan School Facilities
Taking a wider view of communities could help keep schools open despite falling enrollment.
New York Law Addresses Extreme Heat in Schools
The law calls for heat mitigation measures when temperatures exceed 88 degrees.
Parents Turn to Ride-Hailing as Schools Pull Bus Transportation
Some districts are cutting back on school buses, leaving some children without reliable transportation to and from school.
Fact Check: New Housing Doesn’t Lead to Overcrowded Schools
A common refrain heard by locals opposed to new housing developments is that area schools can’t absorb the increase in students they’ll bring. As the nation approaches an “enrollment cliff,” the data tells a different story.
Expanding the Mission: Community Groups Serving Schools
Some community development organizations have added education to their traditional focus on housing and economic development, looking for ways to support families and children by partnering with local school districts. How is it working?
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
