EFFECTS OF GENTRIFICATION ON EDUCATION INEQUALITIES

THE CITIES OF THE 21ST CENTURY ARE THE SPACE WHERE THE CONTRADICTIONS OF GLOBALIZATION BETWEEN GROWTH AND INEQUALITY ARE CONDENSED. THEY HAVE BECOME THE CENTER OF OPERATIONS FOR INCREASINGLY INTERCONNECTED ECONOMIC RELATIONS AND ARE PRACTICALLY THE ONLY VISIBLY LOCALIZED PART OF A HIGHLY UNLOCALIZED ECONOMY, WITH MORE VIRTUAL THAN PHYSICAL PROJECTION. GLOBALIZATION HAS ACCENTUATED CHANGES IN THE SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CONFIGURATION OF URBAN SPACES AND HAS ACCELERATED PROCESSES OF FRAGMENTATION AND SOCIAL POLARIZATION. THIS INCREASE IN ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION IN WESTERN CITIES HAS COEXISTED WITH (AND ON OCCASIONS HAS FOSTERED) PROCESSES OF URBAN GENTRIFICATION IN VARIOUS ENCLAVES. GENTRIFICATION IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH DISADVANTAGED URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS UNDERGO A PROCESS OF REVERSION AND REINVESTMENT THAT FACILITATES THE ARRIVAL OF A MIDDLE AND UPPER-MIDDLE-CLASS POPULATION AND GENERATES A PROCESS OF DISPLACEMENT OR REPLACEMENT OF THE RESIDENT POPULATION. THE RECOGNITION OF GENTRIFICATION AS A STRUCTURAL PHENOMENON CONTRASTS WITH THE STILL SCARCE KNOWLEDGE OF ITS SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF INEQUALITY OR SOCIAL COHESION. THE EDUCATIONAL FIELD IS UNDOUBTEDLY A FIELD OF SPECIAL INTEREST IN WHICH TO OBSERVE THE POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF GENTRIFICATION ON EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND INEQUALITIES. HOW DO THE PROCESSES OF GENTRIFICATION AFFECT THE CONFIGURATION OF SCHOOL SUPPLY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD? WHAT KIND OF SCHOOLS DO SOCIAL GROUPS OF HIGHER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS CHOOSE IN GENTRIFIED NEIGHBORHOODS? IS THERE A HIGH LEVEL OF WHITE FLIGHT IN THESE CONTEXTS OR, ON THE CONTRARY, DOES THE MIDDLE OR UPPER-MIDDLE-CLASS POPULATION OPT FOR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS? WHAT EFFECTS CAN BE OBSERVED ON SCHOOL SEGREGATION? THESE AND OTHER QUESTIONS ARE ADDRESSED BY THE GENTRED PROJECT. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE CITY OF BARCELONA AS A PARADIGMATIC CASE STUDY WHERE TO EVALUATE THE EDUCATIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF GENTRIFICATION. VARIOUS WORKS HAVE EVIDENCED PROCESSES OF URBAN TRANSFORMATION IN THE CITY AND IN PARTICULAR A CLEAR TREND TOWARD GENTRIFICATION IN SOME NEIGHBORHOODS. THE PROJECT IS BASED ON THE HYPOTHESIS THAT IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS WITH A HIGHER LEVEL OF GENTRIFICATION, GREATER SOCIAL DIVERSITY AND LESS SCHOOL SEGREGATION ARE NOT NECESSARILY OBSERVED, SINCE MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES DEVELOP EXIT STRATEGIES IN THE CHOICE OF SCHOOL OR PROCESSES OF 'SCHOOL GENTRIFICATION' THAT ACTIVATE PRACTICES OF SOCIAL CLOSURE AND EXCLUSION. THE PROJECT MAKES USE OF A MIXED AND INTERDISCIPLINARY METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH, COMBINING THE EXPLOITATION OF CENSUS AND SCHOOL DATABASES, THE USE OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS, QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION METHODS, AND QUALITATIVE APPROACHES BASED ON INTERVIEWS, DISCUSSION GROUPS, AND OBSERVATIONS. THE RESEARCH WILL CARRY OUT ANALYZES AT DIFFERENT TERRITORIAL SCALES (CITY, DISTRICT, EDUCATIONAL ZONE, NEIGHBORHOOD) AND WILL EXPLORE THE IMPACT OF URBAN GENTRIFICATION ON THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL EXPERIENCE OF DIFFERENT SOCIAL GROUPS.