Public Schools as Public Infrastructure

Abstract

Our nation’s public schools are important elements of public social and physical infrastructure. The quality of cities depends on the quality of schools. Likewise, the quality of schools depends on the quality of cities. This article is focused on looking at our public schools as public infrastructure, particularly in the context of inner cities and older suburbs. The article argues that there is a profound and detrimental “cities and schools disconnect,” and as a field, planning has virtually ignored our public schools. City planning scholars need to increase their engagement with public schools and school facilities and think more critically about how development and redevelopment decisions ultimately impact our public schools.