A study of about 200 school sites

A study of about 200 school sites in South Carolina concludes that schools built in the last two decades discourage children from walking to school and contribute to urban sprawl. In Wait for the Bus: How Lowcountry School Site Selection and Design Deter Walking to School, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League reports that only 4 percent of students walk to schools built since 1983, while 16 percent walk to those built before 1983. Even children who live within 1.5 miles of recently built schools frequently need special hazard bus transportation because a busy highway or the absence of sidewalks bar them from reaching the school safely on foot, the report says.

Schools built in the 1980s and 1990s are generally much bigger than their predecessors and use more acreage than the state requires. Their remote sites are often selected by real estate developers who need schools to sell houses, the report states. The fact that the schools introduce public infrastructure such as water and sewers to undeveloped sites encourages further development on rural land that otherwise would not have been developed. The report recommends among other things that the state should encourage new schools in infill locations and that local officials should connect schools to road networks suitable for walking and biking.