[llamaorama]

Something I've noticed about Houston is that I don't think school quality correlates much with what passes as the closest thing to "urbanism" around here.

The poorest, sketchiest parts of the city with the worst schools are either 1) low density old neighborhoods comprised of small, single story homes with a high proportion of empty lots or 2) very high density but not functionally urban clusters of 1970s era apartment complexes. Meanwhile the best urban schools, like Lamar and Memorial HS and their feeders, are in the handful of neighborhoods which are sort of urban-like(pre-war suburban mixed with more recent infill), meaning inside the loop west of downtown.

I imagine the bigger trend is money. Rich areas probably have fewer kids. I think that's the big picture trend, the correlation with the built environment is a weak one and probably just a spurious claim.