International Public Science Day 2001 at OMSI

Building a Community from the Ground Up
Part VI: The City and Urban Growth

Students gain knowledge of local history, their natural environment, native cultures, and community planning.

The class has previously worked collaboratively to design and construct a three-dimensional model of a pre-history environment (Part I), settlement of early indigenous communities (Part II), settlement of early European pioneers (Part III), transition to an early town a (Part IV) and then transition to a modern town (Part V). The group will consider social, historical, and environmental issues as they transition their model from a modern town to a city. In this lesson students will learn about the cities develop in their local area and will add features to their model that represent these cities.
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This project-based curriculum represents an extended unit. It works well as a two month unit, with the class spending time each week, for one month, learning about history, watersheds, bridges, native cultures, etc. The actual model can be built over approximately three weeks if the students work one hour per day.

Alternatively, the project could be a year long experience, or condensed into a "living laboratory" intense 1 - 2 week experience.

· 9 inch by 12 inch pieces of gray construction paper for each student to make skyscraper
· rectangular pieces of gray construction paper of varying size for parking areas
· variety of sizes and colors of construction paper for businesses (mainly rectangles)
· 1.5 to 2 inch strips of black construction paper for highways
· assorted pieces of construction paper for students to cut and use as they design their own
· tape or glue
OPTIONAL:
· colored clay or other materials for optional multimedia models, especially for older student groups
· toothpicks and marshmallows to build bridges

· It may be useful to have pictures of cities available.
· Optional: Invite an urban planner to talk with the class.

Ask and discuss the following:

What is the current time frame of the area? How many years have passed since the modern town was built?

What businesses, industries, and services are found in a city or urban area? (Place special consideration on those aspects not commonly found in smaller towns.)

Which are the most important features to include in any city?

Let the class brainstorm. Brainstorming is a shared process that validates multiple ideas. There is no right or wrong answer here.

Student teams will work together to plan and add cultural features of the earliest peoples to populate their project model.

Working as a class, or in student teams, plan the city for the model. Take the following into consideration:

1. Where will the following be located: downtown, the industrial area, the suburbs, the rural areas?

2. Where will large facilities (such as airports, zoos, science centers, universities, coliseums, arenas, malls, or factories) be located?

3. Use discussions with city officials, planning commissioners, park board members, engineers, etc, to help solve planning problems. Students can call or email these officials, or they can be invited to visit the class.

4. Students choose one or two large urban planning "issues" to solve as a whole class. (For example, how many parks should there be and where should they be located?) Utilize the class mayor, city council, and planning commission to discuss and decide on that issue.

5. Create a list of the plans, facilities to be constructed, infrastructure to be built, etc.

1. Each student makes one skyscraper from the rectangle design. Add windows, doors, etc. before gluing.

2. Each student or team constructs one or more of the structures or areas that has been listed in the planning process.

3. Some important facilities, services, or infrastructure may not have been planned by the student teams. The teacher may make suggestions, but it is best not to dictate. Ownership of the city needs to belong to the student team. Thus, final cities may be short on some products, services or infrastructure.

4. Students design and create the basic structures in their planned city. (For example; a cabin shape and skyscraper on its side may make a mall, factory or church) Provide a variety of sizes of rectangular construction paper (in grays, brown, white, etc.) Encourage details and experimentation in the student design process.

5. Consider the city as a whole, see what else needs to be added, strengthened, combined or taken away.

6. Look at the city together and see if it is complete/adequate.

7. Using a photocopy of the grid with numbers "1" through "5" and letters "A" through "D", each student creates a new map of the model as it is now, with natural features, roads, bridges, the town, etc.

Rather than try to map each building use symbols to indicate large facilities, parks, etc. Develop new symbols for the map legend if needed.
(For younger students, the teacher can create and photocopy a grid template for the students to use.)

Talk about areas and identify industrial, business, urban, suburban and rural areas.

Use shadings of different color for business, industrial area and other areas instead of trying to draw all the buildings.

8. Summarize

Discuss the final outcome of the city. Would the students want to live there? Where would they want to live in the final model? What job would they like to have in their new community?

Would they do anything differently next time?

The following are suggestions to extend the project into various curricular areas. These can be done as a class, by student teams, or by individual students
The following are suggestions to extend the project or discussions about the project into various curricular areas. These can be done as a class, by student teams, or by individual students

Environmental Biology
Continue discussions on the environmental impact of their city. Note changes in terrain from the first phase to the final phase.

Social Studies
Compare ancient and modern cities.
Geography

Civics
Utilize the political structure of your city to make critical decisions.
Talk with those in comparable positions in actual town or city near you. Use email for questions with officials.
Note whether there are any problems/ challenges in the news that are comparable to the problems encountered planning the city.
Note how decisions made early in the settlement effected how the city grew.

Economics
What financial challenges does the city face?
Has the planning prepared the city well enough to handle these potential problems

Geography
Continue looking at cities from different environments and continents.

Math
Geometry and spatial relations will be explored by students creating and building structures of unusual shapes.

Reading
Read Little House, by Burton..

Writing
Write summaries of the entire project.

Write emails or letters thanking all the community participants in the project.

Communication
Invite town officials, parents, other classes, etc. Students present their finished project.

Compile student's maps and notes in booklet form for each student.
If you have them, include digital photographs and/or student drawings of each phase of the project.

Review sheet on stages and concepts (attach)
Quiz on concepts (attach)
Presentation of city to others

Based on an activity created by Betsey Kenworthy, Hockinson Intermediate School, Brush Prairie, Washington.

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