Urban structure types and students’ academic performance

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this study, we propose a novel approach for estimating the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and students’ academic performance. We propose the concept of urban morphology by Urban Structure Types (USTs). USTs are spatial indicators that describe the urban system through its physical, environmental, and functional characteristics. Our academic performance data includes 344,175 students from 256 public schools in the Federal District (FD), Brazil. This is student-level academic achievement data from 2017 to 2020. We performed the UST mapping in the FD by using visual interpretation. We classified 21 different types of UST. We fit mixed-effects regression models with a student-specific random intercept and slope. The model was adjusted for temporal factors, SES factors, and variables representing the characteristics and the location of each school. Our findings suggest associations between several types of USTs surrounding schools and academic performance. Overall, areas characterized as low population density, with high green index, and high standard residences were associated with an increase in student performance. In contrast, areas that include old buildings near streets, with significant traffic density, and areas with significant exposed soil (areas devasted) were associated with a decrease in student performance. The results of our study support the creation of effective educational and urban planning policies for local interventions. These interventions are likely to translate into healthier schools and improvements in children's behavioral development and learning performance.