NCJ Number
143410
Date Published
1979
Length
72 pages
Annotation
This manual provides basic information for use in a comprehensive planning effort to ensure that the architectural design of community-based residential facilities for juveniles is suited both for the juvenile and for the local community, based on the deinstitutionalization mandates of the 1977 amendments to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974.
Abstract
The discussion considers the population, psychological and social needs, security, spatial utility and perception, and size and location. It emphasizes the importance of creating environments that can help rehabilitate juveniles, noting research indicating that environments affect people psychologically as well as physiologically. Therefore, buildings are integral to human behavior and are not simply containers of activity. Designers must consider all the activities that will take place, how to provide space for each activity, the separation of conflicting activities by time or place, the need for each youth to have an individual space, the need for stimulating variations in color and other features. The design must also allow for self- expression and involvement, for individual and group activities, for formal and informal interaction between peers and responsible adults, and for an unforced and unhindered atmosphere of learning. Specific recommendations, discussions of standards, and reference notes