Changes in the Accessibility of Elementary Schools in Czechia as a Factor of Disadvantage Impacting Regions and Localities

Abstract

The aim of the article is to identify changes in the distance and time accessibility of elementary schools in Czechia, during the second half of the twentieth century, using geo-informational analytical methods. to the article focuses particularly on quality of life in disadvantaged, peripheral areas. The elementary school network has been changing, in accordance with general changes in the geographical organization of society and school catchment areas have been expanding due to improved transportation possibilities. The second part of the article addresses the impact of changes in elementary school accessibility on life in rural peripheral regions, utilizing in-depth interviews with inhabitants from six case study localities, where local schools were closed, during the observed period. The article introduces a classification of forms of disadvantage, affecting regions and localities and resulting from spatial inequalities in the distribution of elementary schools.