“Why so far?”. Children’s mobility and urban structure in the Federal District

Abstract

This study analyzes children’s mobility on schoolhome-school routes in the Federal District of Brazil. Based on a study of children who attend two public educational intuitions located in the Pilot Plan of Brasília (a day-care center and an elementary school), it was possible to profi le their circulation patterns. After presenting the Brasília planners’ initial conception for children’s mobility, the study analyzes the data generated by the survey. Results show that only 4% of the children go to school on foot and 57% travel more than 20km a day in their home-school-home routes. That is, the urban structure of the city and the limited supply of public education led to the failure of the utopian plans for Brasília.