Joint use of public schools: a framework for promoting healthy communities

Jeffrey Vincent, "Joint Use of Public Schools: A Framework for Promoting Healthy Communities," Journal of Planning Education and Research 34 (2014): 2

The take-away: This study develops a framework for understanding joint use of K-12 public schools. K-12 joint use “occurs when school facilities or grounds are utilized by non-school entities or individuals, often after school or on weekends” (153). In the proposed framework, any instance of joint use can be placed on a spectrum between “basic joint use” (simply “when non-school users make use of the school district-owned indoor or outdoor property) and a “joint use partnership,” which, by contrast, “establishes ongoing joint use and describes the formal relationship, policies, procedures, and outcomes agreed upon” (162). Joint use can also be characterized according to the presence (or absence) of capital investment, which may have to do with joint financing of renovations to, or new constructions on school property.

Abstact: 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 links between built environments and health. I examine the “state of the field” of K–12 joint use through studying the academic and associated literature, interviews, participant observation, and case examples. I develop a joint use classification system to aid researchers and practitioners.

Full article (requires access)