Loma Linda officials ask Redlands Unified School District representatives to take into consideration joint use opportunites and safety issues when deciding to re-open Mission Elementary School and offer ” 25 acres of City-owened land … for a future middle school and joint use park, supplying a strong foundation for the long-term vision of both RUSD and our community.”

 ”We’ve learned it’s wisest to work together, to marry our properties for the benefit of the taxpayers.”

Over twenty years of cooperation between public schools and cities in North Carolina has increased access to parks and benefited whole communities. Check out this great article which highlights the success of joint use efforts in Wake County, North Carolina.

Today the Center for American Progress released “The Rural Solution: How Community Schools Can Reinvigorate Rural Education.” Combining data from literature on rural communities, interviews, site visits, and the organizational experience of The Rural School and Community Trust, the report offers recommendations for overcoming challenges rural community schools face. One of those recommendations includes using joint use as a way to reduce costs to community school partners undergoing new construction projects. The report lays out specific recommendations states should take to make joint use more feasible for rural communities.

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, management, policy, and budget: and c) policy recommendations to encourage a “culture” of community use of schools that prioritize partnerships with organizations that provide programs and services to SFUSD students and that are aligned with the District’s goals.

In this paper, the 21st Century School Fund and CC&S add to the growing conversation about and demand for joint use as a way to provide services to children and families in convenient locations, improve opportunities for physical activity by increasing use of school recreational and outdoor spaces, leverage capital investments, and more, we provide a conceptual frame for the joint use of PK-12 public schools. This paper establishes definitions for joint use and frames the basic challenges and opportunities for facilitating better conversations and planning for these type of collaborations.

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

The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF), 21st Century School Fund, and Center for Cities & Schools have organized a free webinar which will introduce a new joint use cost calculator tool that: 1) identifies the components of school district facility costs; 2) calculates the cost of owning and operating facilities; and 3) formulates cost recovery options.

This article highlights the work of the Chula Vista Community Collaborative, a group of neighbors and community organizations, who worked with the city and police department to make physical changes to a neighborhood park. The changes increased community use of the park and improved perceptions of safety. Joint use is another important strategy to support the health and safety features of a community. Increasing access to parks and open space invites participation, fosters a sense of community, and ultimately leads to a healthier, safer community.

The City of Compton, the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, and Mia Lehrer + Associates recently proposed a Master Plan for redeveloping Compton’s existing flood control channel and its adjacent land into a “safe, ecologically beneficial, multi-use, public greenway.” The Master Plan emphasizes a safe, livable, walkable, urban community. Because of its ability to increase open space and stream line costs,  joint use has been proposed as a major part of the plan. Check out how joint use has been incorporated into the plan by clicking on “Joint Use Areas” at the link above.