What risks and opportunities are posed
in areas directly adjoining school property?
Attention to areas directly adjacent to the school is
as significant as concern for risks along the route to
school. Areas adjacent to the school are where students
are commonly found engaged in behaviors forbidden on campus,
making them doubly vulnerable to criminal enticements --
an offender looking for child victims can predict accessibility
at these locations.
Students can alienate neighbors by using their front yards
as ashtrays, picking fights in front of their businesses,
and monopolizing parking spaces. Inadequate parking on
campus can lead to traffic jams and overload nearby streets.
If residents cannot park at their own homes, and if customers
cannot park at local businesses, this would probably lead
to resentment, driving a wedge between the school and its
neighbors.
Drug dealing or alcohol outlets anywhere near school increase
the likelihood of antisocial behavior fueled by substance
abuse, either by students or against students. Industrial
facilities may expose students to hazardous substances,
which could have devastating effects on brain development,
general health, and the corresponding ability to learn.
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