Analyzing patterns of accessibility to schools: A gravitational metrics study in València

Aida Villalba; Luis E. Vila; Jose Miguel Carot; Aida Villalba; Luis E. Vila; Jose Miguel Carot

doi:10.3934/math.2025038

AIMS Mathematics

2025, Volume 10, Issue 1: 809-825. doi: 10.3934/math.2025038

Previous Article Next Article

Research article Special Issues

Analyzing patterns of accessibility to schools: A gravitational metrics study in València

1.
Dept. of Applied Statistics and Operational Research, and Quality, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
2.
Dept. of Applied Economics, Universitat de València, Spain

Received: 27 June 2024 Revised: 12 September 2024 Accepted: 09 October 2024 Published: 14 January 2025
MSC : 62P20, 62P25

A gravity-based accessibility metric, the Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) enhanced with gaussian smoothing, is proposed to clarify the distribution of opportunities for compulsory education. Along with the physical locations of the homes and schools, the metric considers the population age structure and capacity to measure the population's accessibility to school services. The application of the 2SFCA within the '15-minute city' model and the analysis of València's urban environment revealed two main findings. First, the distribution of the accessibility scores after a spatial autocorrelation analysis closely reflected the per capita income across the city, irrespective of the type of school and level of compulsory education considered. Second, for most school age children, accessing a charter school is easier than access to a public school for primary and secondary education. The 2SFCA metric appears to adequately capture the uneven spatial distribution of educational opportunities, thus offering new insights into some of the forces the drive school segregation processes and their territorial foundations.
- spatial segregation,
- gravity-based metrics,
- 15-minute city,
- chrono-urbanism,
- equity
Citation: Aida Villalba, Luis E. Vila, Jose Miguel Carot. Analyzing patterns of accessibility to schools: A gravitational metrics study in València[J]. AIMS Mathematics, 2025, 10(1): 809-825. doi: 10.3934/math.2025038

Related Papers:

Abstract

A gravity-based accessibility metric, the Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) enhanced with gaussian smoothing, is proposed to clarify the distribution of opportunities for compulsory education. Along with the physical locations of the homes and schools, the metric considers the population age structure and capacity to measure the population's accessibility to school services. The application of the 2SFCA within the '15-minute city' model and the analysis of València's urban environment revealed two main findings. First, the distribution of the accessibility scores after a spatial autocorrelation analysis closely reflected the per capita income across the city, irrespective of the type of school and level of compulsory education considered. Second, for most school age children, accessing a charter school is easier than access to a public school for primary and secondary education. The 2SFCA metric appears to adequately capture the uneven spatial distribution of educational opportunities, thus offering new insights into some of the forces the drive school segregation processes and their territorial foundations.

References

[1]	F. Alcalá-Santaella, Díaz Orueta, X. Ginés Sanchez, M. L. Lourés Seoane, Políticas urbanas en España: Grandes ciudades, actores y gobiernos locales, Spain: Icaria, 1971.
[2]	M. A. Alegre, Politiques de tria i assignació d’escola: Quines efectes tenen sobre la segregació escolar? Fundació Jaume Bofill-Institut Català d’Avaluació de Polítiques Públiques (ivàlua), 2017. Available from: https://fundaciobofill.cat/publicacions/politiques-de-tria-i-assignacio-descola-quins-efectes-tenen-sobre-la-segregacio-escolar.
[3]	C. Bagley, Black and white unite or flight? The racialised dimension of schooling and parental choice, Brit. Educ. Res. J., 22 (1996), 569–580. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192960220504 doi: 10.1080/0141192960220504
[4]	W. Bell, A Probability Model for the Measure of Ecological Segregation, Soc. Forces, 32 (1954), 357–364. https://doi.org/10.2307/2574118 doi: 10.2307/2574118
[5]	R. Benito, I. Gonzàlez, Processos de segragació escolar a Catalunya, Catalonia: Fundación Jaume Bofill, 2007.
[6]	I. Biazzo, B. Monechi, V. Loreto, General scores for accessibility and inequality measures in urban areas, R. Soc. Open Sci., 6 (2019), 19097. http://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190979 doi: 10.1098/rsos.190979
[7]	X. Bonal, Municipis contra la segregació escolar. Sis experiències de política educativa local, Fundación Jaume Bofill, 2012. Available from: https://www.fbofill.cat/sites/default/files/78.pdf.
[8]	S. Carrasco, J. Pàmies, M. Ponferrada, B. Ballestín, M. Bertran, Segregación escolar e inmigración en Cataluña: Aproximaciones etnográficas, EMIGRA Work. Pap., 126 (2007), 357–364.
[9]	Conselleria d'Educación, Cultura i Esport de la Generalitat Valenciana, Centros docentes de la Comunidad Valenciana (Valencia), 2021. Available from: https://ceice.gva.es/es/web/centros-docentes/descarga-base-de-datos.
[10]	T. H. Cormen, A Probability Model for the Measure of Ecological Segregation, Soc. Forces, 32 (1954), 357–364. https://doi.org/10.2307/2574118 doi: 10.2307/2574118
[11]	T. H. Cormen, C. E. Leiserson, R. L. Rivest, C. Stein, Introduction to Algorithms, 3 Eds., United States of America: The MIT Press, 2009.
[12]	O. D. Duncan, B. Duncan, Residential Distribution and Occupational Stratification, Am. J. Soc., 60 (1955), 493–503.
[13]	European Comission Inspire Registry, Cadastral parcels, 2024. Available from: https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/theme/cp.
[14]	FELIPE VI, Ley Orgánica 3/2020, de 29 de diciembre, por la que se modifica la Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación, 2020. Available from: https://www.boe.es/eli/es/lo/2020/12/29/3.
[15]	A. Franze, B. Duncan, Une école "difficile": Sur la concentration d'élèves d'origine immigrée à Madrid, REMi, 14 (1998), 105–120. https://doi.org/10.3406/remi.1998.1612 doi: 10.3406/remi.1998.1612
[16]	F. J. García Castaño, M. Rubio Gómez, "Juntos pero no revueltos": Procesos de concentración escolar del "alumnado extranjero" en determinados centros educativos, Rev. Antropol., 68 (2013), 7–31. https://doi.org/10.3989/rdtp.2013.01.001 doi: 10.3989/rdtp.2013.01.001
[17]	S. Gorard, C. Taylor, What is Segregation? A comparison of Measures in Terms of 'Strong' and 'Weak' Compositional Invariance, Sociology, 36 (2002), 875–895.
[18]	R. Hutchens, Numerical measures of segregation: Desirable properties and their implications, Math. Soc. Sci., 42 (2001), 13–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-4896(00)00070-6 doi: 10.1016/S0165-4896(00)00070-6
[19]	R. Hutchens, One measure of segregation, Int. Econ. Rev., 45 (2004), 555–578. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2354.2004.00136.x
[20]	B. De Madaria, L. E. Vila, Segregaciones escolares y desigualdad de oportunidades educativas del alumnado extranjero en València, REICE, 18 (2020), 269–299.
[21]	T. Monarrez, K. Washington, Racial and Ethnic Representation in Postsecondary Education, Research Report, 2020. Available from: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/b4623931-4d41-45bb-82a9-3f2f9b5fd3d7/content.
[22]	C. Moreno, Z. Allam, D. Chabaud, C. Gall, F. Pratlong, Introducing the "15-Minute City": Sustainability, resilience and place identity in future post-pandemic cities, Smart Cities, 4 (2021), 93–111. https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities4010006 doi: 10.3390/smartcities4010006
[23]	F. J. Murillo, C. Martínez-Garrido, Magnitud de la segregación escolar por nivel socioeconómico en España y sus Comunidades Autónomas y comparación con los países de la Unión Europea, Rev. Soc. Edu., 11 (2018), 37–58. https://doi.org/10.7203/RASE.11.1.10129 doi: 10.7203/RASE.11.1.10129
[24]	E. M. Murtagh, J. L. Mair, C. Tudor-Lake, M. H. Murphy, Outdoor Walking Speeds of Apparently Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, Sports Med., 51 (2021), 121–141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01351-3 doi: 10.1007/s40279-020-01351-3
[25]	P. Musset, School Choice and Equity. Current policies in OECD countries and a literature review, OECD Edu. Work. Pap., 2012, 66. https://doi.org/10.1787/5k9fq23507vc-en
[26]	D. Nusche, What Works in Migrant Education? A Review of Evidence and Policy Options, OECD Edu. Work. Pap., 2009, 22. https://doi.org/10.1787/227131784531
[27]	Oﬁcina d'Estadística de l'Ayuntament de València, Población residente en la ciudad de Valencia según sexo y edad año a año, 2020. Available from: https://www.valencia.es/cas/estadistica/.
[28]	B. Pizzol, M. Giannotti, D. B. Tomasiello, Qualifying accessibility to education to investigate spatial equity, J. Transp. Geogr., 96 (2021), 103–199.
[29]	QGIS Development Team, QGIS Geographic Information System. Open Source Geospatial Foundation Project, 2023. Available from: http://qgis.osgeo.org.
[30]	J. M. Rodríguez-Victoriano, L. M. Junquero, B. De Madaria, La reproducción de las desigualdades sociales en el sistema educativo. El mapa escolar de València: Políticas de zonificación, libertad de elección y segregación escolar, València: Universitat de València, 2015.
[31]	A. Sánchez Hugalde, La segregació escolar dels immigrants a Catalunya, Quaderns d'Avaluació, 13 (2009), 55–76.
[32]	G. Van Rossum, F. L. Draje Jr, Python reference manual. Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica Amsterdam, 2002. Available from: https://www.python.org/.
[33]	A. Zancajo, Escolarización y segregación socioeconómica en los sistemas educativos europeos: Un análisis comparado, RASE, 13 (2020), 453–473.
[34]	L. Zhang, X. Zhang, H. Huang, L. Zhang, H. Li, Spatial Accessibility of Multiple Facilities for Affordable Housing Neighborhoods in Harbin, China, Land, 11 (2022), 37–58. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11111940 doi: 10.3390/land11111940

Reader Comments

Your name:*

Email:*
© 2025 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)