School Closures and the Spatial Ecology of Education Access in 10 U.S. Cities

Abstract

Public school closures are increasing in frequency, number and size in U.S. cities. This study examines the spatial distribution of public school closures occurring in 10 U.S. cities between 2010 and 2019. I employ Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) techniques to measure the spatial concentration of school closures, or the degree to which school closures cluster. I also develop a measure of spatial accessibility across neighborhoods based on the time it would take to travel to the nearest closed school, in every block group in the 10 study cities. To take into account that traffic, congestion and other factors may play a role, I compute and compare times by car and foot, and compare access based on neighborhood ethnoracial and socioeconomic composition. Findings show that school closures geographically cluster, and neighborhoods with a greater percent of Black residents, whether higher poverty or not, will have longer commute times to the next nearest open school after a school closure. The geographic clustering of closures and the increased commute times to the nearest open school suggest that school deserts may be formed after school closings.