“Advance scouts for urban sprawl” is how

“Advance scouts for urban sprawl” is how one commentator characterizes public school systems in the new report from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Neighborhood Schools in the Age of Sprawl: Why Johnny Can’t Walk to School. At a time when fewer than one in eight children walks or bikes to school, public policies continue to favor remote, “warehouse-like schools” over improving existing neighborhood schools, the report contends. The National Trust’s policy recommendations include eliminating arbitrary acreage standards that discourage the renovation of older schools, rejecting school site donations from developers in sprawl locations, and adopting “smart codes” that encourage the rehabilitation and modernization of historic schools. For more information visit www.nationaltrust.org.