Spatial Inequalities in School Mobility: An Innovative Approach to Identifying Education Deserts in the Czech Republic

This article examines the spatial and demographic dimensions of daily school mobility in the Czech Republic, with particular attention to how commuting distance reflects broader inequalities in access to education. Drawing on detailed municipality‐level data on pupil and student flows, the study analyses school commuting as a form of routine population mobility that reveals underlying patterns of spatial equity. Building on the concepts of educational accessibility and education deserts, we identify significant regional disparities in the distribution of educational opportunities. Urban areas benefit from dense educational infrastructure, whereas peripheral and sparsely populated regions experience structurally longer school commutes. Suburban zones around major cities are characterised by a demographic–infrastructural mismatch where local demand exceeds school capacity. These findings demonstrate how demographic structures, settlement patterns and spatial organisation of educational services jointly shape unequal access to schooling. The study contributes to population geography debates on spatial inequality and provides an evidence‐based foundation for more regionally sensitive educational planning.