Sept 29th 2019 | Anagha Deepak

What’s Boomtown? Is it an urban city.. ? What is an urban city? Is it yet another city like we see around us with no farm land, more cars & buildings, pollution, unorganized things around?? Nahh.. we want to build our city which should be an example for others to follow, it should be one in a kind, efficient & happy people happy robots city.

What makes an urban city truly great? Let’s think about few points of what’s needed in our model, So next time when we start to build, let’s keep all these in mind!

1. Pedestrian Friendly Public Spaces

Sidewalk patios and pedestrian only streets and shopping centres are great additions to any urban locale. They allow us to enjoy the outdoors, visit local businesses with ease, and gather with our friends. Have you been to the Domain area in Austin? The planning of that place has made its atmosphere & ambience so good right?

2. Arts & Culture

At the heart of every urban centre is a vibrant arts and culture scene. This can be at public libraries, museums, and galleries, but also in the various events that the city puts on, or that members of the community create. These events provide a forum to express creativity and unique ideas, they allow people to meet and mingle, and they also celebrate all the different cultural groups within the community, making the city lively and inviting! Happy people make the place vibrant. Have you guys been to our Zilker Park Kite festival or the Christmas tree lighting at the park?

3. Community Gardens & Local Agriculture

Community gardens benefit us in a variety of ways. They provide local, convenient and low-cost food for the neighbourhood, strengthens bonds between community members, and provides a healthy distraction from bustling city life. It’s also an opportunity for different generations to get together and share their stories and knowledge with one another. Moreover, local agriculture in the heart of the city offers alternative land uses, further improving the cityscape. If you guys are interested, we could visit one of these kind of farms which is not far away on a weekend & see how they grow vegetables in middle of the city!

4. Bike & Pedestrian Infrastructure

Increased bike and pedestrian infrastructure are an integral part of any good urban city. Biking or walking is also good for our health, and not being locked in a vehicle increases our likelihood of interacting with our neighbors and visiting local businesses, creating a sense of community.

5. Community Centres/Meeting Places

Often overlooked, community centres provide outreach for low-income and newcomer groups while establishing strong community ties. They also provide unique programming for sports, arts, culture and more. Community centres also represent a socializing experience for the elderly and other demographics that might not otherwise exist. It’s a great place to discover local news and groups.

In addition to community gardens, cities need parks and dedicated green spaces for recreation and relaxation. Urbanites suffer from a lack of exposure to nature, which damages not only our physical health but our mental well being as well. Of course, green spaces come in all shapes and sizes: parks and pocket parks, courtyards, green roofs and more. The versatility of greenery makes green space a highly underrated aspect of urban life, one which could easily be improved.

6. Reliable Transit System

Transit is literally what keeps a city moving. Whether commuting to school or work, or doing daily errands, the price, convenience and efficiency of public transportation effects us all. When a city’s transit systems stops, the city cannot function. Does our city have some cool feature in transport yet? Let’s think something really amazing idea here, so that we can invest on an another motor set for movement!

7. Well Balanced Neighbourhood Development

This year FLL jr has partnered with Starwars.. although I haven’t seen much of the Starwar movies, I am a fan of BB8.. our city neighborhood should have a good balance of Robots & people in it. Only then both can live in harmony!

8. Devoted Community Leaders

Plan is on the way to meet our City leaders to know what challenges can arise during planning & taking incharge of a city like ours. Let’s learn and ask questions to them, start preparing for what to talk!

9. Citizens

Why are citizens on this list? Because without them, everything else is meaningless. You can have great infrastructure, public spaces, and all the amenities you want, but it doesn’t mean much if nobody’s using it. For every city to function and cater to the needs of its people, those people need to be engaged and involved. They need to understand what’s going on in their city, know what resources are available to them, and be a part of the decision making process! And what happens when they do is something great.

Team, let’s keep all these in mind while we build our LEGO city! All these things cannot be covered in our session as more time is devoted to learn how to make the robot work. You guys learnt what’s an architect’s job today ,built a robot, built a 2 floor house, understood how to program & so much more. But please read this as it’s so very important to have knowledge & open mind before building our city our Boomtown!