As part of its work for the Citizens' Commission on Planning for Enrollment Growth, the Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME) conducted research to assess the impact of overcrowding on the students of New York City schools. All five of the City's boroughs have experienced recent enrollment growth that has been closely linked to…

Edward Hall's long accepted theories of proxemics, developed in the mid-sixties of this century, promoted the idea that culture plays the definitive role in determining how different individuals use personal space. Contact cultures, inhabited by people who are comfortable with touching and close contact, include those of Arabia, Latin America, and…

Defining stress as a "misfit" between individual needs and environmental attributes, this paper reviews research on areas where the designed environment, on both a schoolwide and a classroom level, interacts with the educational process. These interactions are considered from the perspective of stresses imposed on both teachers and students. The…

Describes an automated storage/retrieval system which is integrated with an online catalog and circulation system at California State University--Northridge as a practical solution to the problems of expanding collections and escalating construction costs. The impact of this system on user services is discussed. (CDD)

To address the inadequate condition of school buildings across the city, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) established a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) in 1996, an ongoing plan for reviewing and upgrading CPS infrastructure over 5 years. Capital projects include additions, annexes, new replacement schools, and new area schools. This report…

Examines efforts to solve spatial problems at the University of Missouri/Columbia Ellis Library. Discusses lack of funding for library expansion and the decision to have an off-campus storage facility, new space demands brought on by technology, and the innovative storage solution at the University of Southern California's Leavey Library. (AEF)

Presents a five-activity sequence designed to help students understand the effects of population doubling. Activities consider the effects of population doubling on human interactions, drinking water supplies, and food supply. Students also develop graphs of data and write research papers. (WRM)

This document presents the formal response to the Chicago (Illinois) Board of Education's annual review of desegregation efforts for 1988-89, which addresses strategies to relieve overcrowding. The Commission found that the document is substantial and detailed in nearly all respects, overcrowded schools should stop permitting students who are…

Students must clearly understand that every living thing on earth exists within the context of a system of interlocking dependency. Through the use of audio-visual materials, books, magazines, newspapers, and special television reports, as well as direct interaction with people, places, and things, students begin to develop a cognitive frame of…

Reviews studies on occupational stress among teachers in British schools. Considers the prevalence of self-reported occupational stress, sources of stress, symptoms and effects, and coping actions. Argues that, in view of changes in education, further research is needed to provide updated information on which to base an understanding of teacher…

The New York City Citizens' Commission on Planning for Enrollment Growth submitted a report on overcrowding in New York City schools that may serve as a guide to other cities striving to provide an effective education for ever-increasing numbers of students. Research on the impact of school overcrowding has been inconclusive, but there is some…

Describes the Youth Art Month exhibit in Howard County (Maryland) where students submitted their art focusing on school buildings and their interiors. Their art reveals concerns and desires about overcrowding, space utilization, school building height, outside lighting, solitude needs, and visual stimulation. The artwork is discussed in terms of…

Focusing on current environmental issues and strategies for preparing for the future, this document provides the following conference papers: (1) "Preparing Environments for the 21st Century," by Bailus Walker, Jr.; (2) "Green vs. Greed: Development and Conservation," by John Ferrara; (3) "Plants and People: A Developing Relationship," by Alan…

This research report presents data showing that overcrowding in the New York City public schools is having significantly negative effects on instruction and learning in the system. The impact is particularly strong in schools that have a high proportion of students of low socioeconomic background, where overcrowding is sharply linked to lower…

The dramatic increase in the number of births after World War II, the "baby boom," lasted until the early 1960s. Another surge in births was recorded in 1977, the start of the baby boom echo. However, the number of births is not expected to decline again, with long-range projections indicating a rising number of births over the coming…