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This professional report explores the role of private consultants in the school facility planning process. It focuses on such issues as school siting and local government and school district collaboration. As such, it seeks to demonstrate the importance of the school facility planning process and its significance in the community. The primary data for this report is in-depth interviews with a variety of school facility planning consultants. The questions asked in the interviews were broad and open-ended, and the data was studied qualitatively to determine similar experiences of all interview participants. The conclusion of this report presents key findings from the interviews, as well as from background information on the subject. / text

Schools have always played an important role in modern society. They are a reflection of local values and changing educational and societal trends. The 21st century brings with it a multitude of challenges as we design schools and communities that embrace and engage learners in an era of global communication and unfettered knowledge exchange. This project explores the concept of a school-centred neighbourhood in response to these changes. Through a case study review of Grande Prairie’s Community Knowledge Campus, the study looks at the social influences of a multi-use school facility through the use of indicators of social capital, lifelong learning and learning-based community development. Interviews with school and municipal planners as well as facility users are used to explore the intended purpose of the development and to measure the effectiveness of this concept. The study concludes that multi-use school facilities have a measurable impact on the promotion of these social elements and thus contribute to the creation of a school-centred neighbourhood. Six recommendations are presented at the end of this study for use by school and municipal planners. These include: i) central locations and community linkages, ii) efficiencies and flexibility through multi-use school facilities, iii) the promotion of joint-use agreements, iv) coordinated school board capital planning and municipal land use planning, v) establishing a common planning language between schools and municipalities and vi) community planning and neighbourhood design through CKCs.

Schools have always played an important role in modern society. They are a reflection of local values and changing educational and societal trends. The 21st century brings with it a multitude of challenges as we design schools and communities that embrace and engage learners in an era of global communication and unfettered knowledge exchange. This project explores the concept of a school-centred neighbourhood in response to these changes. Through a case study review of Grande Prairie’s Community Knowledge Campus, the study looks at the social influences of a multi-use school facility through the use of indicators of social capital, lifelong learning and learning-based community development. Interviews with school and municipal planners as well as facility users are used to explore the intended purpose of the development and to measure the effectiveness of this concept. The study concludes that multi-use school facilities have a measurable impact on the promotion of these social elements and thus contribute to the creation of a school-centred neighbourhood. Six recommendations are presented at the end of this study for use by school and municipal planners. These include: i) central locations and community linkages, ii) efficiencies and flexibility through multi-use school facilities, iii) the promotion of joint-use agreements, iv) coordinated school board capital planning and municipal land use planning, v) establishing a common planning language between schools and municipalities and vi) community planning and neighbourhood design through CKCs.

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to establish guidelines for planning future public school facilities based upon identified global, societal, and educational trends that would most likely highly impact upon the types of public school facilities that will be built in the future. Based upon an extensive literature review, interviews with educational practitioners and facility specialists, and on-site visits to 15 schools in four states, 66 guideline elements were developed. These elements were submitted in a questionnaire/rating sheet format to a researcher-selected jury of 13 national educational facility planning specialists (100% Response Rate) for their evaluations. The five sections for which the final set of guidelines were established were: (1) Planning, Design, and Site Selection; (2) Environmental Enhancement Factors; (3) Space Utilization; (4) Technology; and (5) School and Community Service Areas. The findings were that all 66 guidelines were rated as essential, highly desirable, or significant by the jurors. The major conclusions reached from the study were several: (1) Educational practitioners advocated systematic, proactive, long- and short-range facility planning. This planning should be broad-based and pluralistic with flexibility, mobility, and adaptability as the cornerstones of the school design process. All planning should be based on both "hard" and "soft" data. Planning should also be both bottom-up and top-down with maximum information shared with the stakeholders. (2) Aesthetic, psychological, and behavioral environmental enhancement factors were key areas in future school designs. Facilities should be student-centered and "user-friendly" with an external welcoming appearance. The selection of the school site was extremely important, also. (3) Schools should be designed to offer optimal comfort to all inhabitants with flexible spaces where teachers and students can learn, relate, and explore. Schools and communities should share resources if possible.

This thesis investigates how estimates of reservoir compartmentalization impact facility sizing decisions and the degree to which inaccurate estimates destroy project value. An uncertainty analysis workflow is proposed and an asset development optimization model is specified to simulate the decision making process during concept selection. The model endogenizes drilling decisions and includes a real option to expand facility capacity after the uncertain variables are realized. The value of information analysis suggests that cost of erroneous estimates of reservoir compartmentalization is significant and can reduce asset value by more than 30%. We also find that the negative impacts are larger when the degree of compartmentalization is underestimated (too optimistic) than when it is overestimated (too pessimistic). / text

Thesis (M.S.P.)--University of Michigan, 1944.

Thesis (M.S.P.)--University of Michigan, 1944.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Cornell University, June, 1974. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 223-236).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Cornell University, June, 1974. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 223-236).