ABSTRACT

More than 50% of the world’s population lives in urban centers. In Latin America, more than 80% of the population lives in urban communities. China’s urban population has doubled since 1990, shifting from one quarter to one half of the population living in urban centers (Zhang, 2007). According to the Census Bureau in the United States, 60% of the U.S. population lives in urbanized areas of more than 200,000 people, with an additional 21% living in urbanized clusters (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Thus, the majority of youth in the United States and around the world live and attend schools in urban centers.