College Desert and Oasis: A Critical Geographic Analysis of Local College Access

In an effort to challenge the dominant discourses of college access and highlight nondominant discourses of college access such as geographic racism and segregation, I employ a Critical Geographic College Access (CGCA) framework. This framework consists of critical geographic theories such as power-geometry and spatial mismatch. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), I conducted spatial and proximity analysis of urban and suburban areas of a county in Western New York. The results revealed a college desert in the urban core and a college oasis in the suburban periphery. Using a critical geographic approach, this article asserts that a depopulating city consisting of high concentrations of people of color has less college accessibility although more need than suburban areas.