The 21st century has been called the "age of the city". The concentration of human activity is what makes cities such an important space of opportunity and challenge. This article views urban development challenges from an education perspective and argues that education must be viewed as an important intermediary for capitalising on the physical, intellectual and social capital available in cities. The distribution of educational opportunity within cities must be monitored to ensure that education plays a role in reducing and not exacerbating urban inequalities. Making sure that the city works for all requires improving how we plan cities and making urban planning processes more inclusive through knowledge-based participation. There needs to be more appreciation of education's role in transformative urban development and stronger advocacy by education stakeholders to gain a seat in the circles that wield the most power in the urban futures debates.