Downsizing Schools and Upgrading Housing?

Faced with shrinking populations, budget cuts, and- in some extreme cases- temporary takeover by article, there have been few conversations about what to do with the empty school buildings, many of which are located in low-income neighborhoods. Many of the larger abandoned buildings would be ideal for repurposed affordable housing, but a lack of neighborhood political will and willing developers coupled with certain laws restricting usage of former schools present obstacles that have consequences for the architectural future of the buildings and for housing options in areas that are in need of more affordable units near central business districts.

Image Credit: Hamilton Houston Lownie 

state emergency managers, many cities around the country are closing schools as part of an emotional and controversial process of consolidating students. Much ongoing debate has centered around the educational implications of shifting students from school to school but, excepting thoughtful pieces like Amanda Erickson's recent

In cities like Washington, D.C., laws that require local governments to offer empty school buildings to charter schools before affordable housing developers have left many buildings in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods vacant. These buildings, which often have historical and emotional ties to the neighborhood, could help address the lack of affordable housing in areas where new arrivals are displacing and out-pricing longtime residents as school buildings' layouts provide ample space and the potential for a mixture of larger and smaller, sustainable units. In cities where municipal authorities have been able to expedite the conversion of former schools and build community support, such as Kansas City, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Atlanta, developers who were wooed by tax incentives have contributed to the building of hundreds of units. While some difficulties emerge from the process of renovating classroom space into living space and some buildings are determined to be unable for repurposing, the ability of developers and community groups to create low-cost units and make better use of empty spaces than charter schools or other enterprises that have traditionally been given preference over affordable housing and cannot afford to inhabit and renovate old schools. As more school budgets are slashed and demographics shift, the number of uninhabited school buildings is likely to increase. Amidst this reality and the need for inclusive housing near vibrant urban cores, lawmakers and local officials may want to enact new ordinances that spur development of affordable housing for residents of neighborhoods that were once served by the vacant schools now collecting dust in cities across America.