ABSTRACT

The lack of access to educational opportunities is currently most pronounced in regions of rapid urbanisation and in the fastest growing cities. Some of the most pressing challenges for urban planners relate to the provision of schools in the context of worldwide urbanisation. Urbanisation denotes the increase in the share of the world’s, or any nation’s, population living in urban areas. In 1950, 70% of the world’s population was rural. Urbanisation is largely driven by a combination of endogenous urban growth and migration from rural areas to towns and cities, although conflict and ensuing displacement, humanitarian crises and climate change are increasingly seen as contributors. Currently, the number of children who are denied access to education worldwide stands at 262 million. A closer look at the geographical distribution of this figure shows that the problem is concentrated in the regions of most rapid urbanisation.