This article is an in-progress examination of the current landscape of school choice in a well-known case of universal decentralization: New Zealand's public school system. Using a supply-side analysis of the implications of a specific policy--school enrollment schemes--this author seeks to test hypotheses about zoning and self-preservation using theoretical frameworks from the political economy literature of metropolitan areas. The author used a sample of 656 state and state-integrated schools in 4 urban areas: Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Nelson. The collective action dilemma and a model of negative externalities forms the basis for how the author investigated the determinants of whether the schools in this sample have adopted an enrollment scheme--which includes a catchment area known as a home zone. Using spatial analysis to link 2006 Census mesh block data with specific school characteristics, the author explores the "democratic dilemma" of balancing the competing interests of localized access with broad school choice. This research raises the question of who should decide access to schools while providing insight on the ramifications of decentralized decision making surrounding school catchment areas. (Contains 8 tables, 8 figures, and 15 notes.)