School Development in Urban Gentrifying Spaces: Developers Supporting Schools or Schools Supporting Developers?

• In Event: 60.057 - Exploring the Promise and Peril of Urban and Suburban School "Choice" Within and Across Segregated Spaces

Abstract

This research analyzes the establishment of new schools in two neighboring northeastern cities and the school development roles of each city’s key stakeholders. Specifically, this research examines the ways in which private and public stakeholders influence development practices that further socio-economic and racial school segregation through school choice. This research answers the following questions: To what extent has development provided new spaces for schools in gentrifying or gentrified urban areas? How are developers and other private entities benefitting from the creation of these schools? Do these schools promote the racial, ethnic, and socio-economic diversity of the cities in which they are embedded? Are these spaces furthering school choice equitably? Could they?

The political economy paradigm explains that those with power, such as private companies and politicians, shape the urban landscape determining which groups hold advantage and disadvantage (Hackworth, 2007; Logan and Molotch, 1987). Large economic structures, special interests and politics influence neighborhood change, property values, and opportunities for new schools. Not only do developers control the founding of residences and businesses, but now they are also expanding their influence into traditional public entities like parks and schools (Kohn, 2004; Zukin, 2009; Zukin, 1996).

Within this framework of corporatized gentrification, developers attract and maintain wealthy residents and further family gentrification through the establishment, marketing, and support of “family-friendly” spaces, like restaurants, parks, and high-quality schools. These facilities thus perpetuate gentrification. The ability to transform a city through family gentrification while creating schools in their interest has myriad implications for school segregation.

This is a mixed-methods comparative case study of two cities. The methods for data collection include: parent surveys (N= 655), 2010 census data analysis, 5 years of ethnographic observation, interviews with key-stakeholders: school founders, teachers, developers, and parents from a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds (N=77); and the analysis of existing data sets and archival sources.

The findings show that corporate gentrification in two northeastern cities has influenced educational choice and resulted in opening non-district schools in market-rate high-rise residential buildings and in some cases housing or supporting public charter schools. This has resulted in increased school choice for wealthy families but this choice has not changed the demographics of the schools that the majority of low-income youth attend. These schools have also escalated gentrification. Additionally, the support of private entities has created inequities between schools with corporate backing and those without.

This article contributes to research on school choice and gentrification. While other studies have looked at how urban schools are marketed to advantaged parents in gentrifying communities (Cucchiara, 2013), this study looks at the creation and development of new school choices to market neighborhoods to advantaged families. This research shows that providing space for schools gives private entities the opportunity to invest in public entities and receive economic benefits for this. It also provides advantaged families with new choices that keep them in cities longer providing opportunities for integration and community development. However, these school investments are deepening the segregation of urban spaces and providing choice for some.

Authors

• Molly V. Makris, Guttman Community College - CUNY

• Elizabeth Brown, William Paterson University