Publications

A research brief proposed for the California Department of Education by Jeremy Simon GSPP, PLUS Fellow, Spring 2024

Amid fires, wildfire smoke, extreme heat, and other climate-driven disasters and health hazards, California’s leading experts in children’s health and education have come together to call for a cost-effective, ten year $150 billion investment to ensure K-12 public schools can remain open and provide safe and healthy places for California’s children to learn and grow….

As California increases efforts to promote a more sustainable, multi-modal transportation ecosystem, it is important to understand how different parcel uses, especially those that benefit from public funding, such as schools, determine parking requirements. Given California’s evolving approach to off-street parking provisions and the state’s funding of new school development projects, the amount of parking…

Convening Report

This book summarizes two decades of civic youth engagement from California to New York to Japan. It offers a set of best practices for urban planners seeking to reimagine our cities for and with young people.

Education Workforce Housing in California: Developing the 21st Century Campus, a new report and companion handbook from cityLAB, Center for Cities + Schools, and the Terner Center for Housing Innovation, provides a comprehensive overview of the potential for land owned by school districts to be designed and developed for teachers and other employees. Developed in…

Problem Statement: To support its policy goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in recent years, California has enacted land use and transportation policies aimed at reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT). One of these new policies, Senate Bill (SB) 743 (Steinberg, 2013), requires lead agencies to measure development impacts on VMT and identify feasible mitigation…

Public school districts across California struggle to upkeep and modernize their school facilities. For many districts, aging inventory, coupled with limited capital funding opportunities, has led to school facilities with ballooning deferred maintenance problems and classrooms that do not appropriately support modern instructional practices. These realities also work against California’s priorities for high quality, equitable…

Children born today will bear the brunt of the burden of climate change despite having the least responsibility for causing it. Growing calls to position climate change as a child’s rights crisis are rooted in research on the unique physical and mental health impacts that high temperatures, poor air quality, and stress associated with living…

Y-PLAN’s success shows what is possible when we entrust young people to lead

For the last five years, the California Department of Education (CDE) has reported a steady increase in homeless K-12 students in the state1. In the academic year 2018-2019, over 207,000 California K-12 students were without appropriate, consistent and stable housing2. Unhoused K-12 students are disproportionately LGBTQ+, migrants, students of color, and students with disabilities, exacerbating…

Policy Brief prepared for the California Department of Education (CDE), Homeless Education Program

As the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, rapidly spread across the globe in Spring 2020, one of the most widely implemented risk reduction measures utilized was to physically close all school buildings. Reopening America’s public schools for site-based instruction safely amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (without a vaccine) is remarkably complicated and hotly debated. Operating healthy school…

One way to serve healthier school meals is by incorporating “scratch-cooking” techniques, whereby many or most of the ingredients are prepared onsite from a raw and/or minimally processed form, into school food service programs. However, the vast majority of public school kitchens across the U.S. and in California are not designed and/or equipped to scratch…

Sacramento City Unified School District’s (SCUSD) college and career readiness initiatives, as cited in the 2016-2021 Strategic Plan, only equip students with half of the skills and requirements necessary for graduates to succeed in their post-secondary options (Conley, 2012). Namely, SCUSD fails to assess critical soft skills, such as perseverance, growth mindsets, goal-setting, collaboration, etc.,…

A PLUS fellow policy brief on teacher wellness and retention in the Oakland Unified School District.

High school students took a plan for housing for low income families that they took to Facebook and got donations to create this project.

Article in the San Francisco Chronicle from April 25, 2019 highlighting a daylong Y-PLAN conference at UC Berkeley.

“The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) represents a significant shift in how California funds its schools. Established in 2013, the State of California founded LCFF on a principle of equity. Under this new law, the state uses a weighted pupil formula and allocates more money to school districts for high-need student subgroups as defined by…

High school students took a plan for housing for low income families that they took to Facebook and got donations to create this project.

Fourth Graders study energy and invited UC Berkeley and public transportation experts from the program called Y-PLAN (Youth-Plan Learn Act Now) to help the build a model of Santa Rosa, and understand the environment better so they could think about the future of Santa Rosa.

Students take a plan for housing for low income families to Facebook, and get funding for it. In Spanish.

We are fifth-grade students at Laurel Dell Elementary School in San Rafael. Since we were in fourth grade we have been working on projects about our city with architects from Youth in Arts and UC Berkeley’s Y-PLAN (a learning project that stands for Youth – Plan, Learn, Act, Now). We wrote this newspaper column so…

San Francisco Bay Area students in the upper echelons of creative thinking put a new spin on “kids will say and do the darndest things” as the brightest stars took to the mastermind campus of U.C. Berkeley for the 2019 Y-PLAN Policy Summit: Planning a More Inclusive and Resilient Region.

How can we educate our families and community about the impacts of sea level rise on Bayview and San Francisco?

A million-dollar pilot project is aiming to take a bite out the Bay Area’s housing crisis by making accessory dwelling units more affordable. KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi says much of the funding is coming from Facebook, but the idea for the plan was cooked up by low-income youth.

Article in the San Francisco Chronicle from April 26, 2019 highlighting a daylong Y-PLAN conference at UC Berkeley.

High school students took a plan for housing for low income families that they took to Facebook and got donations to create this project.

The Mercury News takes a look at all of the work that Y-PLAN Students are doing in the Bay Area to help people gain more access to affordable housing

Teaching this subject has moved from reading textbooks to students designing their own potential spaces — which experts say promotes key life skills.

“Understanding and lifting up the role that young people play in driving healthy, equitable policies in their schools and cities Assessing how PLUS & Y-PLAN prepare civic leaders to respond to the needs of young people when crafting policy Envisioning how cities and schools collect and utilize data to demonstrate positive outcomes for young people…

A research report on the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) student assignment policy, which was designed to help with school choice to reverse the trend of racial isolation and the concentration of underserved students in the same school, and to provide equitable access to programs offered in the district.

In an emotional presentation, four local high school students recently shared their experiences of the housing crisis with the Menlo Park City Council

California has run out of money to help school districts build and repair schools. See EdSource’s video explainer that highlight’s CC+S research.

A PLUS fellow report on teacher retention in OUSD

This is a segment from CBS Bay Area news that includes interviews from Y-PLAN students discussing their RBD projects

Thismemo will specifically analyze SanFrancisco PlanningDepartment’s current Family Friendly City initiative, whichseeks to develop an effective familyandyouth engagement processto meet the needs ofall families in San Francisco. Given theintentional educationalexperience, childrenare natural planners thatunderstandtheirneighborhoods and can providemeaningful feedback for SF Planning. UsingY-PLAN (Youth – Plan, Learn, Act, Now) andBalboa High Schoolasacasestudy,wewillexploreopportunitiestoimprove SFPlanning’sFamilyFriendlyCityinitiative.

This video features 4th graders from Malcolm X elementary showing a bit of their designs for the Y-PLAN|RBD project. They talk about why they care about sea level rise.

This is an informational article about the Tomodachi Y-PLAN studio and the work the students produce for their communities. The article also has a series of testimonials from past Y-PLAN Tomodachi participants.

Apart from educating, teachers are often in the front lines of dealing with a child’s trauma. This report and policy brief discuss way in which schools can address the vicarious trauma teachers in OUSD go through and recommends ways they can help their teachers cope. Especially since vicarious trauma can lead to teacher burnout and…

Y-PLAN was recognized for the Campus Community Partnership Award for their partnership with RBD.

This article shows the final design proposals from the RBD design teams.

Students from all over the Bay Area gathered in Alumni Hall for the final Y-PLAN presentations in partnership with RBD. Their proposals were about sustainability but they encompassed more than sea level rise, they represented a more holistic idea of sustainability being one that includes the health, and social well being of a community rather…

This report is a formative evaluation of Oakland Unified School District’s (OUSD) Newcomer Teacher Wellness Mini-Grant. It includes a background of the program’s inception, with a focus on the key role that teacher coordinators played in supporting wellness activities. After illustrating the broad support around wellness activities, it delves into how newcomer teachers feel about…

Fifth grade students were invited to participate in the planning process for the 2040 San Rafael General Plan. The students will be using the Y-PLAN to work on the General Plan.

Oakland Unified School Districts faces increasing teacher attrition and levels of stress among teachers. Principal leadership is necessary to support teachers and ultimately students achievement.

The article informs the reader on the final Y-PLAN presentations from students in Johnson High School and Arthur A. Benjamin Health Professions High School.

This article introduces the Resilient by Design competition and it’s focus on Bay Area sea level rise. It also shows the 9 regions the design teams will be working with, which are the regions Y-PLAN students also worked with in this partnership.

100 students from the Tohoku region in Japan participated in a 3 week long Y-PLAN studio where they stayed in UC Berkeley. The students drafted proposals for the city of Richmond in the first half of the project and in the latter half the students created projects for their communities back home.

This article talks about the imprtant role Y-PLAN plays in connecting students with real life community partners. It also argues that the students’ proposals could be used to propel plans in the community.

This is a video of interviews with different community members who attended the Flood Fair to learn more about sea level rise and community resilience.

The current housing affordability crisis in california, coupled with stagnant wages for teachers and school district staff, has contributed to high teacher turnover and widespread teacher shortages. In response, school districts have begun to develop employee housing programs as a strategy to recruit and retain high-quality teachers and staff. This study provides a detailed look…

Every day millions of elementary and secondary school children in the U.S. attend public school in deteriorated and obsolete facilities that harm their health and undermine achievement. Why? Because capital funding for public school facility infrastructure remains the most regressive element of public education finance. Policy brief by BASIC ([Re]Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition

This 8-minute film interviews eight directors of water quality, restoration, and environmental programs around the San Francisco Estuary about their experience of the 2017-2018 Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge. ESTUARY News asked these leaders — some of whom also sit on the SF Estuary Partnership’s Estuary Blueprint Implementation Committee — how the results of…

Estuary News Magazine wrote an article about the partnership between Y-PLAN and RbD focusing on the agency students gain through the Y-PLAN process. They argue that Y-PLAN encourages city officials to actively engage youth in the planning process by being intentional about including youth and not just setting up programs that are marginal to the…

This report aims to provide the Multilingual Pathways Department (MPD) a general overview of the current implementation of Spanish Biliteracy (BL) and Dual-Language Immersion (DLI) pathways at the school site level. It will identify trends that exists within and across school sites as it relates to the key components of bilingual programming. More specifically, it…

This report is intended to help understand strategic ways to empower and strengthen the West Contra Costa Youth Commission. It is broken up into 7 parts:  Background providing context to the district  Framing around the imperative of youth voice and local opportunity in West Contra Costa  A description of methods used for…

In 2017, the California Department of Education (CDE) announced the “Small School District Assistance Initiative,” aimed at providing targeted assistance to small and rural school districts in the state. To aid CDE’s efforts, this study investigates the facility challenges and issues facing rural and small school districts in California. We utilize a mixed method approach to understand the capital investment…

Page 79 of this activity guide is an activity for teachers and students to explore their school grounds and look for examples of resiliency as well as come up with ways their school can be more resilient. The lesson plan uses fundamental aspects of the Y-PLAN methodology like working with young people and allowing them…

This study provides a critical appraisal of intermediaries in demand-driven workforce development. In San Francisco East Bay, an emerging set of workforce intermediaries – here called the” Skills Brokers” – recently take issue in alleged Skills Gaps to create a cross-sector reform agenda. They seek to connect the supply and demand for STEM skills to…

California’s 6-million-student public school system includes a vast inventory of publicly owned buildings and property. All of these facilities need to be maintained and some need major renovations to ensure health, safety, and educational suitability. Some communities also need new school buildings to house a growing student population. Research suggests students learn better in classrooms…

In response to rapidly changing environmental and political climates around the world, governing agencies are grappling with the notion of resilience. How can communities continue to thrive with chronic and acute threats such as sea level rise, drought, fire, growing inequality, and unaffordable housing? Community engagement is often sought by governing agencies in determining answers…

This blog was written by Resilient by Design describing their exciting partnership with Y-PLAN. “Resilient by Design is excited to partner with the UC Berkeley Center for Cities+Schools (CC+S) through the evidence-based Y-PLAN educational methodology and to be involved in the collaborative effort to create a unified vision for a resilient future for the Bay…

Vincent, Jeffrey M., Miller, Ruth, and Dillon, Lianne California Journal of Politics and Policy, vol. 9, no. 3 As California looks to implement a Health in All Policies approach into state decision making, and weave health, equity, and environmental sustainability into more policies, a better understanding of the relationship between school siting and walkability is…

Schools serving low-income communities of color are often in disrepair and untidy. The condition of a school’s facilities leads to student tardiness increasing their likelihood of not preforming well in class. Additionally, this blog argues that it makes students feel like they do not deserve to be in a clean school.

Y-PLAN received an award from the UCB Chancellor for their partnership with the African American Male Achievement Initiative in OUSD.

A joint report from the Center for Cities + Schools, 21st Century School Fund, Center for Green Schools, and National Council on School Facilities Our country’s elementary and secondary (PK–12) public school infrastructure is in crisis. Every day, millions of children in the U.S. attend public school in unhealthy, unsafe, educationally inadequate, environmentally unsustainable, and…

To inform state lawmakers on appropriate policies for K-12 school facility planning and design, this paper investigates standards in seven state policy areas (educational space, minimum essential facilities, indoor human comfort/environmental quality, school site size, planning process, maintenance, and charter schools) in ten case study states: California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York,…

Through this initiative, six national cross-sector working groups have developed a menu of solutions to guide government, industry, labor, and the civic sector in the delivery of high performance public PK-12 infrastructure for all children. The six working groups are organized around basic elements of a well-managed facilities program: Data and Information, Educational Facilities Planning,…

This article is about the partnership between Y-PLAN and the City of Richmond. Explaining their long partnership and the mutually beneficial relationship they have has engaging youth in Richmond’s planning process.

CC+S is partnering with the 21st Century School Fund, The Center for Green Schools, and the National Council on School Facilities to address the structural problems of inequitable and inadequate school facilities found in too many communities across the U.S. 

After decades of dedicated investment, state funding to assist local California school districts in the construction, modernization, and maintenance of their school facilities has come to a halt. Our analysis of school facility spending across California finds that, compared to industry standards, there is an ongoing, structural pattern of inadequate and inequitable spending in many…

K-12 public school facilities need regular investment to ensure student health and safety and support educational programming. Yet, the future of K-12 school facility funding in California is uncertain. A strong state-local partnership has existed that funded new construction, modernization, and other investments in public school facilities across the state since 1998, under the School…

This field report describes how high school students from Richmond, California used an innovative educational strategy called Y-PLAN (Youth – Plan, Learn, Act, Now) to actively participate in the planning and transformation of their school, neighborhoods and city. Our description follows students through the five-step YPLAN process, highlighting how they effectively challenged the ways in…

In many parts of the country it is difficult for families, particularly low- or moderate- income families to afford a suitable home in a transit-rich neighborhood with good schools. This report synthesizes the ideas and policy recommendations from a national convening of local, state, and federal stakeholders from across the country on innovative policy and…

To strategically plan for the implementation of a full-service community schools initiative, this project sought to identify existing programs at school sites in WCCUSD and analyze how the distribution of services aligns with local needs.

Access to safe, affordable, and convenient transportation shapes the ‘geography of opportunity’ for many children and youth. This study looks at how​localities across the country are implementing new and innovative alternative approaches to student transportation that expand regional transportation access for K-12 students, improve cost-effectiveness, and leverage inter-agency partnerships beyond the traditional yellow school bus.

OUSD’s career academies and pathways are the foundation of its work-based learning strategy, known as Linked Learning. This instructional approach provides students with the resources and skills necessary to succeed in college, career and life. But according to this report, educators and industry professionals struggle to connect on meaningful collaboration projects

The School Facilities Cost Calculator: A Joint-Use Tool for Fair Fees, a free tool that helps school districts and communities determine the costs of owning and operating their facilities and develop a fair and transparent joint-use fee structure, is now available in an interactive web-based format. The Cost Calculator includes rich data from nearly 15,000…

This report examines three factors that pose a risk to student transportation in the SFUSD: school choice, limited transportation resources, and diverse school contexts. It addresses these concerns in order to increase environmental sustainability in transportation among District families. 

In 2010, The California Endowment (TCE) launched a 10-year, $1 billion Building Healthy Communities (BHC) initiative in 14 target communities across the state. South Sacramento was one of these selected target areas. This report looks at what changes have been catalyzed by Sacramento Building Healthy Communities investments in SCUSD on institutional practice and policy at…

California lawmakers are debating the future of the state’s role in providing school construction and modernization funds to local school districts – a school facility funding role the state has played since 1947. Previous statewide school construction bond authority is exhausted. To inform this policy debate, our paper describes the role each of the 50 states plays…

These maps and findings address the current transportation infrastructure in place for students with disabilities in the San Francisco Unified School District. 

Under California’s new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) K-12 funding system, Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) must address “school facilities in good repair. ” (as defined in California Education Code § 17002d). This webinar will give participants the knowledge and tools to actively participate in their school districts good repair plan. (Sponsored by The…

Despite the growing interest in expanding the joint use of K–12 public schools by public health and planning practitioners to promote healthy, sustainable communities, the topic has received little attention in the urban planning and public health scholarship. The objective of this article is to situate joint use in the academic literature focused on the…

The chapters in this volume explore the links between education, location, and land based on the proceedings of the 8th Annual Land Policy Conference of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Three policy outcomes are the focus: academic achievement of schoolchildren; racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic segregation; and equality of opportunity, all of which have broad…

Third- and fourth-grade elementary school students have been contributing their ideas to the redevelopment of their community in San Francisco, using a methodology known as Y-PLAN (Youth-PlanLearn-Act, Now!). This article explains the process and describes the ideas the children have come up with – and how key areas and insights are being incorporated into the…

Joint use of public school facilities is a complex but manageable approach to efficiently enhancing the services and programs available to students and supporting the community use of public schools. Building upon on our 2010 paper titled Joint Use of Public Schools: A Framework for a New Social Contract, this paper identifies the policy framework…

Using a range of research methods, this report examines broadly the alignment of the full portfolio of BHC grantees and in particular the interface between community-based organizations and schools. It finds that the majority of grantees – two-thirds – share some youth development objective. 

The purpose of this report is to analyze and identify shared visions and goals between ABAG and educators, and develop recommendations for aligning programs and policies to reach such goals.

SFUSD, like many districts, allows use of its classromms, gymnasiums, and other indoor facilities to external groups. But similar to other districts, SFUSD has struggled to apply use fees consistently, fairly and equitably. Building from the recommendations of the 2010 report, San Francisco’s Public School Facilities as Public Assets: A Shared Understanding and Policy Recommendations for…

On December 6, 2012, UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities & Schools, in collaboration with the California Department of Education, California Department of Public Health, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, Strategic Growth Council, and Health in All Policies Task Force, brought together leaders from across California to discuss the alignment of important policy agendas: ensuring…

This project seeks to identify opportunities for Youth UpRising (YU) to support and collaborate with the OUSD in developing a new career academy at Castlemont High School. This paper analyzes potential career academies against the current economic and educational landscape of the East Bay and provides tools for YU and OUSD to work together in…

Schools trying to be integrated and serve their local communities often face a challenging question: Are “diversity” and “walkability” compatible? This summary document, drawn from a national dialogue among leaders in health and public education, with accompanying research, answers this question in the affirmative. The report highlights key obstacles and outlines the full range of factors that…

This report focuses in particular on RHEP as a platform for developing a district-wide

This paper was chosen for Smart Growth Network’s compendium, The National Conversation on the Future of Our Communities, in February 2013. The project’s aim is to start a conversation on thorny issues the smart growth movement has yet to resolve, issues that have received too little attention, and issues that have escaped us altogether. Our…

In partnership with the SFUSD, this research project utilizes official documents and key stakeholder interviews ot create landscape analysis that attempts to address the following question: What community development initiatives will support and improve the educational attainment of pre-k to 12th grade youth attending SFUSD schools located in the Bayview neighborhood and what connections between…

In the summer of 2009, Oakland Unified School District (“OUSD”, “the District”) was returned to local governance after six years of State control, with Dr. Tony Smith as its new Superintendent. Despite fiscal challenges, the administration embarked on a year of listening sessions, followed by a yearlong collaborative planning effort that culminated in a shared…

This report offers a comprehensive overview of the first six years of the PLUS (Planning and Learning United for Systems Change) Leadership Initiative administered by CC+S. PLUS began as a concerted response to the growing recognition among planning and educational practitioners, policy makers and funding agencies that the complex challenges facing students, families and their…

The Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD) and CC+S at the University of California, Berkeley, released “TOD 205 – Families and Transit-Oriented Development: Creating Complete Communities for All,” the seventh in the Federal Transit Administration-sponsored series of reports explaining the best practices of transit-oriented development. This guidebook illustrates why planningfor transit-oriented development that serves families is…

This report takes a comprehensive look at the state of K-12 school facilities in California, focusing on state-level policies and funding patterns. The recommendations lay out a detailed framework that re-envisions the state’s role in K-12 infrastructure to appropriately support educational quality and contribute to healthy, sustainable communities goals. Our hope is that this report…

no description

After reviewing the policy landscape and placement of SUDA within Oakland’s social network, this report seeks to answer how a career academy can transform a school into a full-service community learning center and simultaneously address community development goals.

In 2010 the What Works Collaborative invited CC&S to examine the ways in which sustainable community planning could work with school leaders to foster positive educational outcomes. The report illustrates policies and strategies at all levels of government are increasingly associating educational outcomes with community planning and housing. Challenges remain for local officials and practitioners trying…

CC&S and ABAG partnered to support and inform local and regional innovation connecting schools to the Bay Area’s regional development and conservation strategy (FOCUS) and the Sustainable Communities Strategy as mandated by California’s climate change legislation, Senate Bill 375. Our new report identifies tangible policy levers at both the regional and municipal levels that realize…

In this chapter, we describe efforts to connect efforts to improve public education to housing and transportation planning initiatives, particularly through collaborative city-school-regional partnerships. The chapter appears in the 2011 report, “Finding Common Ground: Coordinating Housing and Education Policy to Promote Integration.by the Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC) and the National Coalition on…

Work-based learning (WBL), an important part of the 1990s “School to Work” movement, is a core component of the Linked Learning strategy which is now shaping efforts to improve secondary education in California2 and around the nation in cities such as Detroit, New York and Philadelphia. WBL can include not only classic internships and “co-op”…

This paper considers how to effectively evaluate outcomes and measure success in comprehensive community transformation efforts, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s proposed Choice Neighborhoods Initiative. It is a product of the Urban Institute and was supported by the What Works Collaborative.

The HOPE SF Housing & Education strategic planning study investigates how to meaningfully integrate public education into the revitalization of the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. The study provides an overall understanding of the current educational landscape at Hunters View; highlights opportunities to maximize resources and outcomes for all residents and families; and assists in creating…

Funded by the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, this study categorizes the types of joint use used by school districts utilized in California. We discern the challenges and lessons in joint use partnerships and make policy, procedural, and research recommendations to better support the joint use of public schools throughout the country.

This paper examines the connections between Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and families, schools, and expanding educational opportunities for all children. This paper is the first of its kind; therefore, we take an exploratory approach to understanding and framing these interconnections. We provide a rationale for the linkages at this nexus, highlight the Ten Core Connections between…

Adrianne Wheeler 2010 PLUS Report

This report explores methods of creating partnerships between schools, non-school supports and community organizers by looking at OUSD’s Complementary Learning Department.

This paper examines the connections between Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and families, schools, and expanding educational opportunities for all children. This paper is the first of its kind; therefore, we take an exploratory approach to understanding and framing these interconnections. We provide a rationale for the linkages at this nexus, highlight the Ten Core Connections between…

CC+S chapter in the book Changing Places: How Communities Will Improve the Health of Boys of Color (edited by Christopher Edley, Jr. and Jorge Ruiz de Velasco; University of California Press 2010). The book draws attention to the urgent need— both economic and moral—to better understand the policy and community- based factors that serve as…

CC+S partnered with the California Strategic Growth Council and the California Department of Education to host an invited roundtable, bringing together local and state leaders together to discuss promising strategies for linking public schools to the creation of healthy, sustainable communities. Topics included, integrating schools into regional Sustainable Communities Strategies and local planning activities, school…

To address the fragmentation of Oakland’s public schools, this report recommends developing a shared vision at the school and district levels and incorporating service partners into the life and culture of school sites.

In this article, we measure the impacts of three public school construction regulations on the costs of construction in a model that incorporates a more comprehensive set of project and locality characteristics than previous research.

Through connections with local communities of practice as well as development professionals and other adult actors, HOPE SF can improve the prospects for affiliated youth. 

Many schools offer service learning—community service linked to classroom studies—to help students become more effective participants in a democratic society. Different forms of service learning combine various amounts of discussion and analysis of social issues with engagement in activities that have real impact outside the classroom. What we call “Social Enterprise for Learning,” or SEfL,…

This report presents research findings and policy recommendations from a year-long process involving a diverse stakeholder group to establish a more effective “joint use” strategy in San Francisco that supports students, families, schools and communities. The report includes: a) detailed descriptions and diagrams of current SFUSD facility policies and processes; b) findings on current utilization,…

CC+S joins PACE (Policy Analysis for California Education) to explore California’s historic $82 billion school construction investment opportunity to advance educational quality and lift local communities. This report contributes to a new conversation about how mindful school construction decisions can enrich metropolitan areas and sustainable forms of regional development.

California’s ongoing school construction investment and innovations in public education, coupled with the new infrastructure planning approach in SB 375, create a strategic opportunity to make land use decisions that better support students, families, and communities.

This brief introduces HUD and others to CC&S’s 10 PLUS Mechanics of Change, an evidence-based framework for building healthy, equitable and sustainable communities through integrated city-public school initiatives that simultaneously leverage innovations in the built environment, educational practice and governance policies.

CC+S testimony at the Joint Informational Hearing for the California Senate Committee on Housing and Transportation and the Senate Select Committee on State School Facilities: “Schools as Centers of Sustainable Communities: A Vision for Future School Facility Construction,” December 15, 2009.

How can the Hunters View HOPE SF housing revitalization project respond to the special needs of children and youth? This is the question explored by 3rd and 4th grade students in Mr. Moore and Ms. Fredrikson’s classes at Malcolm X Academy. Working with the Center for Cities + Schools and the San Francisco Chapter of…

This report analyzes the potential to integrate school and community services in the redevelopment of HOPE SF at the Hunters View public housing project.

Over the past ten years, public education construction has seen unprecedented growth and California is among the front runners driving this trend. Rising costs, however, are increasing rapidly, impacting school districts’ ability to deliver the schools they are promising their constituents. This research report addresses the void in understanding school construction costs by addressing two…

In partnership with the California Department of Education, CC+S designed and facilitated a two-day roundtable (October 15-16, 2008), convening 75 national and state education and design leaders to explore the relationship between school design and learning and to generate recommendations for improved state policy on school design. From this “public research” event, CC&S crafted a…

This article discusses the ways in which schools affect urban development and transportation, acknowledging that their location, design, and physical condition may be some of the most important determinants of neighborhood vitality. As California continues to grow and the state continues to make significant investments in public school facilities, crafting a vision and strategic supporting…

CC+S partnered with the Local Government Commission and other members of the Ad-Hoc Coalition for Healthy School Siting to provide school facility planning and design policy recommendations to the California Department of Education (CDE). The Ad-Hoc Coalition for Healthy School Siting is a group of five entities across California that have analyzed research and policies…

While successful joint use partnerships can be found across California and the country, lack of information, guidance, and best practices keep many localities from pursuing this collaborative strategy. CC&S partnered with Public Health Law and Policy (PHLP) to conduct initial research on joint use school facility partnerships in California. Our report looks at joint use…

This article analyzes the data produced by Y-PLAN between 2000 and 2005 and demonstrates the model’s effectiveness in fostering positive community outcomes and meaningful learning experiences, as well as its theoretical implications for the planning and education fields.

CC+S and the American Architectural Foundation convened more than 40 policymakers and practitioners from across California to dialogue on the state’s massive ongoing investment in building new schools.

This study documented the growth in K-12 school construction and renovation spending across the country between 1995 and 2005. Our analysis finds disparities in spending by student incomes, neighborhood incomes, and race.

Our nation’s public schools are important elements of public social and physical infrastructure. The quality of cities depends on the quality of schools.