Promoting Spatial Justice in Educational Planning: A Decision Support System Using Rawls' Maximin Principle for Optimal School Location in Loures, Portugal

The recent population dynamics in Europe, particularly in Portugal, have generated the need for more efficient and equitable educational planning. This study aims to develop a decision support system that utilizes an optimization algorithm to suggest optimal locations for new schools or new classes in existing schools, based on the principles of spatial justice. The methodology will follow John Rawls' maximin approach (Rawls, 1971), which aims to minimize the maximum disadvantage experienced by the least well-off members of society, and compare the results with conventional optimization methods.

Incorporating Susan Fainstein's concept of spatial justice (Fainstein, 2010), which emphasizes the importance of equity, diversity, and democracy in urban planning, this research will highlight the importance of considering different principles of justice in spatial configurations and their potential impact on educational planning outcomes. By examining the average aggregated distance, maximum distance from a student to the schools, dispersion, and standard variance, the study will demonstrate how Fainstein's principles can complement Rawls' approach and contribute to more just and equitable school location planning.

The case study will be conducted in Loures, a municipality in Portugal that does not follow the declining population trend observed in the country and Europe. By comparing the outcomes of Rawls' maximin principle, Fainstein's spatial justice, and conventional optimization methods, this research will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of different approaches to school location planning and their potential to promote spatial justice in educational provision.