Abstract
This three-article dissertation examines how spatial context shapes opportunity and outcomes for children in metropolitan regions, using the St. Louis region as a case study. The first article examines student transfer cases arising from the loss of district accreditation, revealing that educational responsibility is inherently regional even when governance is fragmented. The second article synthesizes literatures across youth mental health, juvenile justice, and special education, demonstrating that place shapes youth outcomes across developmental domains. The third article uses Geographically Weighted Regression across 670 census tracts to test whether relationships between neighborhood opportunity, education, and crime vary across space, finding significant spatial nonstationarity that global models failed to detect. Together, these articles make the case that spatially informed research and geographically targeted policy are necessary for improving child opportunity in fragmented, segregated metropolitan regions.
Committee Chair
Mark Hogrebe
Committee Members
Bret Gustafson; Christopher Rozek; Rowhea Elmesky; William Tate, IV
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Author's Department
Education
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
4-24-2026
Language
English (en)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7936/8np1-dj74
Recommended Citation
Hamilton, Christopher, "Neighborhood Opportunity and the Futures of Children: Evidence from a Fragmented Region" (2026). Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations. 3749.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.7936/8np1-dj74