Publications Database

Explore CC+S’s entire collection of publications, policy briefs, reports, and more!

A Lot [of Parking]: Quantifying Parking at New Public High Schools in California

Sydney Maves
2023
5913
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…

Climate-Resilient California Schools: A Call to Action

Center for Cities + Schools, Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, UndauntedK12, and Ten Strands
2023
5822
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….

Planning for Resilient Early Care and Education: Addressing Climate Vulnerabilities

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Center for Cities + Schools, Low Income Investment Fund
2022
5519
rec0nPnlCCCuGOwgD
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…

Gauging Good Stewardship: Is California Adequately and Equitably Investing in its Public School Facilities?

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Semhar Gebrekristos, Lily Neinstedt
2022
5515
recq6o68Epl0cajzw
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…

New National Initiative: Planning for Pk-12 Infrastructure: Adequate Public School Facilities for All Children

Mary Filardo, Jeffrey M. Vincent
2016
2616
reczlTX9wxVBuwqNK
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. 

A Policy Framework for Joint Use: Enabling and Supporting Community Use of K–12 Public School Facilities 

Mary Filardo, Jeffrey M. Vincent
2014
2612
reczYURufh0VAjGIo
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…

Financing School Facilities in California: A 10-year Perspective

Eric Brunner, Jeffrey M. Vincent
2018
2604
recxiPWWv4Y6DUGmc
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…

Joint Use School Partnerships in California: Strategies to Enhance Schools and Communities

Tamar Cooper, Jeffrey M. Vincent
2008
2602
recxgnjcoJQjl1sJw
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…

San Francisco’s Public School Facilities as Public Assets: A Shared Understanding and Policy Recommendations for Community Use of Schools

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Mary Filardo, Jordan Klein, Deborah L. McKoy
2010
2592
recveiQWeziuk4pyz
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,…

Small Districts, Big Problems: Understanding Barriers to Planning And Funding School Facilities In California’s Rural and Small Public School Districts

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2018
2578
rectMRT2A0rnM5tW8
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…

Ad-Hoc Coalition for Healthy School Siting Recommendations to the California Department of Education

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2008
2574
recsODTad3bmw92W7
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…

How Well Do New K-12 Public School Sites in California Incorporate Mitigation Measures Known to Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled?

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Sydney Maves, Amy Thomson
2022
2570
recr3qL6Dmv0kS25g
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…

Transportation Access and Equity in San Francisco Unified School District: A Route to Success

Julian Hayes
2019
2554
recovEcaGD4dL3fhH
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.

Public Schools as Public Infrastructure: Roles for Planning Researchers

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2006
2552
recotDcgsAHY6wE1w
Our nation’s public schools are important elements of public social and physical infrastructure. The quality of cities depends on the quality of schools. 

Joint Use of Public Schools: A Framework for Promoting Healthy Communities

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2014
2546
recmyTzh9loYm52vF
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…

Adequate & Equitable U.S. PK-12 Infrastructure: Priority Actions for Systemic Reform

Mary Filardo, Jeffrey M. Vincent, Joe Da Silva, Anisa Heming
2017
2542
recmtnyT48Cj8LbHQ
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…

Connecting Housing, Transportation + Education to Expand Opportunity: Living, Learning + Moving Together

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2015
2532
recksdLIPx85yrvQ3
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…

The Impact of State Regulations on the Costs of Public School Construction

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Paavo Monkkonen
2010
2526
reckCUw4Q4N0pANZg
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.

Education Equity Requires Modern School Facilities

Mary Filardo, Jeffrey M. Vincent, Kevin Sullivan
2018
2524
reckCEJXxbgaddJU7
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

Putting Schools on the Map: Linking Transit-Oriented Development, Households with Children, and Schools

Ariel H. Bierbaum, Jeffrey M. Vincent
2010
2517
rechNiYzuT6IlmkMv
Ariel H. Bierbaum and Jeffrey M. Vincent Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Volume 2357, pgs 77-85 Transit-oriented development (TOD) remains a popular strategy to achieve environmentally sustainable infill development and auto use reduction. Typically, TOD in the United States offers retail amenities and housing catering to single individuals, childless couples, and…

To Live In The Community You Serve: School District Employee Housing In California

Sean Doocy
2018
2518
rechkr0kIWKEWMAHo
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…

Education Workforce Housing in California: Developing the 21st Century Campus

Terner Center for Housing Innovation, cityLAB, Center for Cities + Schools
2022
2513
recg1f1WYFCukTfkC
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…

WEBINAR: Healthy School Facilities: Planning for ‘Good Repair’ in Local Control Accountability Plans // A Primer for Parents, School Board Members and Community Advocates (April 3, 2014)

Bill Savidge, Joe Dixon, Kathleen Moore, Brad Strong, Jeffrey M. Vincent
2014
2509
recfjRzpDfYGGnfcM
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…

State Funding for K-12 School Facilities: A Survey of the States

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2014
2500
receiv7KWs9ra5GDM
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…

Integrating Infrastructure Planning: The Role of Schools

Deborah L. McKoy, Jeffrey M. Vincent, Carrie Makarewicz
2008
2486
recbSNor5iYlJHLGf
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…

Tardiness and Poor School Facility Conditions Are Interconnected

Amanda Eppley
2017
2484
recbHDrhXai79Ddw9
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.

Planning and Design for the 21st Century: Creating Optimal Learning Environments

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Deborah L. McKoy, Lindsay Baker
2008
2472
recYHeNX1lMB3jlP0
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…

School Siting and Walkability: Experience and Policy Implications in California            

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Ruth Miller, Lianne Dillon, Mary Filardo
2017
2459
recU3YutvabQdP86M
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…

California’s K-12 Educational Infrastructure Investments: Leveraging the State’s Role for Quality School Facilities in Sustainable Communities

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Deborah L. McKoy, Mark Leinauer, Paul Pisco, Mary Filardo
2012
2460
recUdJdF7QkLi9Q1j
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…

School Construction Policies to Support Sustainable Communities: California’s Golden Opportunity

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2009
2463
recVeliQcE8zdolVC
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.

Guided By Principles: Shaping the State of California’s Role in k-12 Public School Facility Funding

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Liz Gross
2015
2464
recVrcwjIn9gWVw9K
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…

Re-Visioning School Facility Planning and Design for the 21st Century: Creating Optimal Learning Environments

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Deborah L. McKoy, Lindsay Baker
2010
2466
recWQYVK6GeMCuwZQ

Engaging Students in Transforming Their Built Environment via Y-PLAN: Lessons from Richmond, California

Deborah L. McKoy, Jessie Stewart, Shirl Buss
2015
2468
recXF6MMWmJ0JbVGx
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…

Are California Public Schools Scratch-Cooking Ready? A survey of food service directors on the state of school kitchens

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Ariana Gunderson, Debbie Friedman, Angela McKee Brown, Sadie Wilson, Vanessa Gomez
2020
2470
recXU9UeAxXOLE7UZ
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…

Growth and Disparity: A Decade of U.S. Public School Construction

Mary Filardo, Jeffrey M. Vincent, Ping Sung, Travis Stein
2006
2471
recXprBVDSb8MPeZ0
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.

SB 375 and Public Schools: Aligning Public Education and Regional Growth for California’s Future

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2009
2444
recPBvK3JyRe3NVEr
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.

COVID-19 BRIEF #1: Reopening Schools Safely and Equitably Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: School Facilities are Frontline Defense in Reducing Risk

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2020
2446
recPGJPxtuhs8UP3A
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…

Smart Schools for Sustainable Communities: Aligning Sustainable Communities Planning and Public Education in California (Invited Policy Roundtable)

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2010
2448
recQrOLsX5jiTWmQu
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…

Maximizing Walkability, Diversity, and Educational Equity in U.S. Schools

PolicyLink, Changelab Solutions, Safe Routes to School National Partnership, Center for Cities + Schools, Mary Filardo, Deborah L. McKoy, Jeffrey M. Vincent
2013
2454
recS9lJK9J5st4inQ
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…

Sustainable Communities Need Opportunity-Rich Schools: A Smart Growth Imperative

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Deborah L. McKoy
2013
2456
recSmrS7PZ7BuUvDB
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…

Partnering with K-12 Education in Building Healthy, Sustainable, and Competitive Regions: A California Policy Symposium

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Deborah L. McKoy, Ken Alex, Connie Mitchell , Kathleen Moore
2013
2429
recKMJFKrwMtqq9uN
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…

Smart Schools, Smart Growth: Investing in Education Facilities and Stronger Communities

Bruce Fuller, Jeffrey M. Vincent, Deborah L. McKoy, Ariel H. Bierbaum
2009
2431
recKm8MgiuCobmRpk
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.

Building Schools, Building Communities: The Role of State Policy in California – Proceedings Paper

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Deborah L. McKoy, Ariel H. Bierbaum, Linn E. Posey, Center for Cities + Schools
2007
2440
recNwAmJuQbd5Pp6z
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.

School Facilities Cost Calculator: A Joint-use Tool for Fair Fees

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2014
2419
recFg5rLElW9bvgOR
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…

The Complex and Multi-Faceted Nature of School Construction Costs: Factors Affecting California

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Deborah L. McKoy
2008
2422
recHxEn4YCqlfAMnD
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…

Putting Schools on the Map: Linking Transit-Oriented Development, Families, and Schools in the Bay Area

Ariel H. Bierbaum, Jeffrey M. Vincent, Deborah L. McKoy
2010
2426
recIm7JkH5XvQf40z
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…

Opportunity-Rich Schools and Sustainable Communities: Seven Steps to Align High-Quality Education with Innovations in City and Metropolitan Planning and Development

Ariel H. Bierbaum, Jeffrey M. Vincent, Deborah L. McKoy
2011
2371
rec7tShPaHPpkAvMv
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…

Partnerships for Joint Use: Expanding the Use of Public School Infrastructure to Benefit Students and Communities

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2010
2395
rec7ZEeI9yynwJiZg
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.

Building Pressure: Modeling the Fiscal Future of California K-12 School Facilities

Liz Jain, Jeffrey M. Vincent
2016
2397
rec7zEhT4jr0grTV3
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,…

Beyond the Yellow Bus: Promising Practices for Maximizing Access to Opportunity Through Innovations in Student Transportation

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Carrie Makarewicz, Ruth Miller, Julia Ehrman , Deborah L. McKoy
2014
2404
recA6BmDBORBHifI0
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.

Going It Alone: Can California’s K-12 School Districts Adequately and Equitably Fund School Facilities?  

Jeffrey M. Vincent, Liz Jain
2015
2383
rec3FA6kCzBPmflzG
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…

Fair, Transparent and Equitable: Recommendations for K-12 Joint Use Facilites Fee Structure in San Francisco

Ruth Miller, Jeffrey M. Vincent
2013
2385
rec54176b6q3BZG9L
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…

Building Accountability: A Review of State Standards and Requirements for K-12 Public School Facility Planning and Design

Jeffrey M. Vincent
2016
2392
rec79Tz6zrbZoGmEq
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,…

End of content

End of content