Closed Schools, Open Markets: Mapping the Spatial Distribution of Closures and Charters in Detroit

• In Event: 41.084 - Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: 41.084-3 - Mapping the Margins of Marginalization: School Closing, Space, Place, and Educational Policy

Abstract

The purpose of this study is twofold. First, we examine the education and public policies that laid the groundwork for massive school closure in Detroit. We do so within Detroit’s racial, historical, social, and economic context. Second, we employ Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map the spatial distribution and clusters of school closures and the opening of charter schools in Detroit over the last 15 years. We draw on Hogrebe and Tate (2011) to position our mapping work as a visual political literacy project, which is a research approach that builds on the political potential of GIS, as applied to education, with the central aim of producing visual artifacts to enhance discussions and actions around space and educational opportunity.

Authors

• Terrance Green, The University of Texas - Austin

• Joanna Dolores Sanchez, Howard University