Spatial effects of educational policies: recent expansion and internalization of federal education in non-metropolitan cities in Ceará

Abstract

The recent process of higher and technical education’s expansion, which characterizes federal educational policies from the turn of the 21st century, is based on a double process of democratization and internalization. At the same time that this expansion has enabled the Brazilian State to recover some of its leading role in meeting the demand for those educational levels, it impacted mainly small and medium sized municipalities, as the educational complexes implanted changed intraurban dynamics and structure of those cities. This paper presents and discusses some aspects of territorial dimension regarding expansion of federal education in non-metropolitan cities from Ceará, and argues that the implementation of new campuses is associated with the flexibilization of urban legislation, the increase of urban mobility demand, the dynamization of the real estate market and the increase in trade and services.

Keywords:
Federal universities. Federal institutes. Education. Cities. Urban impacts.