School location methodology in urban areas of developing countries

This study is concerned with the location of primary public schools. The public system should have the capacity to satisfy all the demand, although students may choose between public and private schools if they can afford the corresponding costs. A number of factors, such as questionable education quality, limited capacity, poor location and social preferences, secure a participation of about 30% to the private school system. The purpose of this study is both the evaluation of the existing public school network and a relocation proposal. The result of the former was the identification of areas with shortage and excess in school offer. The latter suggests school relocation using capacitated and uncapacitated models. ArcView, a software of the geographic information system (GIS) family, was employed, allowing the efficient handling of large problems and improving the presentation and evaluation of the findings. This methodology was applied to the primary public school network in the area of Vitoria, a state capital located in the southeast region of Brazil with about 300,000 inhabitants. Finally, the practical use of this study and its importance for planning purposes are discussed.