Some regions are prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or earthquakes. Other tragedies, such as fires or acts of violence, can occur just about anywhere. Regardless of the specific type of disaster, schools and universities must be prepared to cope with crises that can disrupt operations, destroy facilities, and displace students and staff.…

For new and retrofit projects, which types of flooring work best in education facilities? Opinions vary among facilities specialists. Also, user groups--teachers, students, principals and parents--have preferences. So, education institutions must do research to determine appropriate flooring for various spaces. Touring facilities and talking to…

This fall, the Los Angeles Unified School District sold about $2 billion in bonds to finance more projects in its massive school construction program. But the cost of repaying that debt won't be as burdensome as it could have been. Los Angeles took advantage of two federal programs available to school systems through the American Reinvestment and…

With taxpayers' considerable investment in schools, it is critical for school districts to preserve their community's assets with new construction or renovation and effective facility maintenance programs. "High-performance" school buildings are designed to link the physical environment to positive student achievement while providing such benefits…

Most colleges and universities have taken great strides in recent years to embrace "being green." As part of this process, many institutions have established an Office of Sustainability or similar department to implement these practices and foster the image of environmental consciousness that the universities want to project. Institutions are…

When Fayette County (Kentucky) school officials began putting together estimates for upcoming renovation projects at two elementary schools, they based their projections on their district construction projects from 2007. But by February, when construction bids were opened for the renovations of Cassidy and Russell Cave elementary schools, the…

Planners and administrators at colleges and universities across the country face a daunting task: how to complete renovations or build new facilities in a tumultuous and challenging economic climate. It cannot be expected that wholesale improvement will come quickly, but the need to improve facilities is a pressing reality. Residence halls,…

This article examines the relative progress and major setbacks in the education of Afghan women from the end of the Taliban regime until the present, focusing on government and NGO reconstruction efforts. It is argued that these projects promote the agendas of the state and of NGOs over the needs of women and girls. The adversities arising from…

In years past, pencils and paper, chalk and chalkboards were common sights on school campuses. Fast forward to 2007--personal laptops, PDAs and PowerPoint presentations are the communication tools of choice. The traditional images that came to mind when remembering one's school days are no longer. Evolving technology and innovations in school…

When President Obama first signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), he took much criticism for spending more money--$787 billion more--when the nation was reeling from decades-old debt, a more than 9 percent unemployment rate and a mortgage crisis. But this measure has allowed public school district leaders to invest in…

The Samuel Brighouse Elementary School, located in Richmond, BC, a city adjacent to Vancouver on the west coast of Canada, is a five-hundred student elementary school. When completed in September 2011, it will replace an existing older school on the same site. This project was identified early on as an opportunity for the Richmond School Board to…

In the era of globalization, China, Korea and Japan have put forward favorable policies to develop higher education. The essay is aimed to make a comparison of their various policies. The conclusion is that, when facing similar forces and problems against the background of globalization, the guidelines and goals of the key construction projects in…

The economic outlook may be sour for Wall Street's investment banks and for homeowners who took out mortgages they could not really afford, but campus planners and architects say that--so far, at least--colleges' construction plans are largely unaffected by the downturn. Some colleges, in fact, are trying to speed up projects to limit the damage…

We often start the design of learning spaces with service and operational considerations rather than with questions about the character of the learning we want to happen in the space. To correct this practice, six questions are here proposed that colleges and universities should ask first and persistently throughout the construction or renovation…

Spending on construction by the nation's education institutions increased in 2008, reversing four years of declines in total annual expenditures, according to "American School & University"'s 35th annual Official Education Construction Report. One of the reasons for the increase in spending was the fact that the majority of the construction…