More-than-human refusal, as an expression of agency, plays an active role in constructing boundaries. In this article, I address what kind of environmental education is made possible by the productive constraints of respecting more-than-human boundaries and refusal. This is intertwined with how humans can practice being attentive to the…

Drawing on cartography, urban design and visual data modelling, we consider how people navigate, or fail to navigate, the mental, physical and social spaces of knowledge communities. Cartographically inspired critical thinking offers opportunities to re-examine the assumptions and formal maps of post-secondary institutions, visualizing…

Researchers used student-generated photographs to mediate interviews with middle grades students about their school environment. Findings suggest that school leaders and facilities planners should be responsive to students' needs for both personal and social spaces and be aware of ways the built environment may shape the perceptions students hold…

Recent rapid changes in the ethnic and cultural make-up of school communities have highlighted the need for teacher education to prepare teachers for culturally diverse contexts. International study trips provide direct experience and interaction with culturally diverse "others" as a way to extend pre-service teachers' understandings of…

"Third places" or public and informal gathering places have declined over the years. Third places, which are "neutral ground" where people gather to discuss, interact, and enjoy the company of those they know, are important for the health of communities. It's a known fact that teens have a strong need to socialize, and their third-space options…

This descriptive study investigated the possible effects of selected school design patterns on third-grade students' academic achievement. A reduced regression analysis revealed the effects of school design components (patterns) on ITBS achievement data, after including control variables, for a sample of third-grade students drawn from 24…

Airplane travelers are dismayed by the long lines and seemingly chaotic activities that precede boarding a full airplane. Surely, the one who can solve this problem is going to make many travelers happy. This article describes the Jet Travel Challenge, an activity that challenges students to create some alternatives to this now frustrating…

Electronic technology has created a revolution in portability of information, documentation, and communication. We are now able to connect with people, information, organizations, and merchandise from anywhere at practically any time. As electronically fabricated environments replace actual physical surroundings, however, we become displaced.…

Research findings are reported of a study (N=88 undergraduate males) of molar crowding in urban centers which involved the simultaneous variation of social density, spatial density, noise, and personality as they effect room affect (physical and psychological). Several main effects proved significant. (Author/DC)

Differing needs for personal space require a variety of library study and seating facilities. (LS)

Notes environmental factors affecting adult learning situations: territoriality, seating arrangements, sightlines, and equipment. A checklist for conducting a space audit includes features inside and outside the classroom. (SK)

Two studies examined the relationship between classroom crowding and the behavior of handicapped students in a total of 74 special classes. Both studies found the frequency of disruptive or aggressive behavior higher under the crowded conditions. (Author/DB)

Discusses the effects of household density on subgroups' reports about their dwellings, family life, social relations, and wellbeing. Reports more dissatisfaction among respondents in high density homes if they are mothers, have young children, or have low status in the household. (JW)

That young children need space seems an unsurprising statement. So unsurprising that it scarcely needs further examination, to say nothing of further thought. But what is really meant by "space" when considered in the context of young children in school and their developing needs? Various studies have mostly described the actual physical…

Proxemic behavior was unobtrusively observed in open and enclosed environments with concurrent variation of the approach of subject to confederate or confederate to subject. The sex of subject and the sex of confederate were also varied, with nesting on the sex of confederate variable. A robust environment effect indicated that personal space is…