Transforming Closed Youth Prisons: Repurposing Facilities to Meet Community Needs

By Hanna Love, Samantha Harvell, Chloe Warnberg and Julia Durnan

This brief examines how former youth prisons can be repurposed into new, sustainable assets for neighborhood revitalization, job creation, and social services. Drawing from qualitative interviews with stakeholders involved in youth prison repurposing efforts across the country, it highlights innovative examples of repurposing in six communities and provides an overview of lessons learned and key considerations for transforming former youth prisons. Findings indicate that although youth prison repurposing is not without its challenges, it offers a unique opportunity to leverage unused state land to inspire lasting investments within communities and produce tangible benefits for residents both socially and economically.

Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2018. 24p.