Fragmented spaces in the urban landscape: A socio‐spatial analysis of educational supply in the city of Madrid

Abstract

The geography of school choice critically shapes families’ educational opportunities. Residential segregation, social inequalities and the educational marketplace interact in complex ways and produce spatialised educational opportunities for families. This paper analyses the link between these dimensions and how they structure families’ educational opportunities in the city of Madrid. Based on several administrative datasets that capture students’ residential location, their socio‐economic position, the schools they attend and the characteristics of school supply, our analysis reveals the uneven spatial distribution of the different school modalities in Madrid, where advantaged families and neighbourhoods have more diversified and socio‐economically homogenous nearby schooling options. The results also depict the way the city is spatially divided along a continuum of ‘privileged’ residential and educational assets. The paper reflects on how reforms expanding school choice and diversification of the educational market undertaken by the regional government may have increased the link between residential and school segregation.