Sustainable City (Brie-anna Molina)

Author(s)

Brie-anna Molina, North Hollywood High School Zoology Magnet

NGSS Engineering Standards

HS-ETS1-1. Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.

HS-ETS1-2. Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.

HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.Include the NGSS engineering standards which are addressed.

NGSS Engineering Standards

PROBLEM - A billionaire environmentalist wants to create the perfect sustainable city. Your group is a team of architects, urban planners, environmental activists and ecologists.

DESIGN - Design your own sustainable city, create a model, then present the information to the class (city planning committee) in the form of a sales pitch or as a tour guide of the completed city. CONSTRAINTS:

1. Size: 6-10 square miles
2. Population: 4,000-10,000 people
3. At least 25% of your land should be devoted to residential areas and should accommodate residents with high, medium and low socioeconomic status:
  1. single family homes to accommodate family sizes of 2-8 people. (1,500 - 3,000 sq. ft. each)
  2. townhomes to accommodate family sizes from 1-4 people. (1,000 - 2,000 sq. ft. each)
  3. apartments to accommodate 1-3 people. (700 - 1200 sq. ft. each)
4. At least 40% of your space must be devoted to agriculture
5. At least 10% of your city should be park area(s) and natural areas
6. The remaining 25% should be
  1. Government, emergency services (fire, police), and medical
  2. Community shopping area
  3. An industrial area
  4. An elementary, middle, and high school
  5. Transportation system (roads, bridges, buses, subway, etc.)
  6. Energy source facility
7. Cannot be an island

OPTIMIZATION - Each component of the city will be submitted as its own proposal: food/agriculture, transportation, energy, waste management, city planning (shelter, natural space, etc.). The proposal due dates follow the units during which we cover those topics. The proposals then act as rough drafts to the final paper so after I give feedback, students can go back and make changes for their final design.

Materials needed

Posters

Procedure

1. Design a realistic sustainable city that balances sustainability and convenience.
2. You must support your city layout with math. For example, you must show calculations of the amount of space required to raise food for all 4,000 people. Some estimates state that an average American would need 1 acre of land.
3. You must support your choices with data and reliable sources, cited in proper APA format.
4. Create a blueprint and map of your sustainable city, including size, scale, compass rose, and an explanation/rationale behind each component to help the committee visualize your plan.
5. Make a sales pitch to the Committee. Explain the rationale, value, and information behind each component of your city.

Questions

Inculde at least three questons (with answers) that you can ask to assess understanding of the principles ilustrated

Photos

Example city map:

See sample report here

Movies

Include movies that you have taken. Your movies should be placed in your youtube account.

References

Rubrics: Presentation Rubric, Map Rubric, ALL (Google Sheets)

Sample of proposal requirements (agriculture)

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Google Sites

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