Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Future City?

Future City is a flexible, standards-based, cross-curricular STEM program for 6th, 7th and 8th graders. Students begin the Future City experience by asking the question, “How can we make the world better”. To answer this question, they use the engineering design process (EDP), to guide them through an authentic, project-based program that incorporates project management skills, involves students in every mode of learning, provides practice and application of literacy and STEM-related competencies, and builds the “soft skills” needed to succeed in their careers. Our continued growth in this compelling program each year addresses the need for and popularity of Future City across the state.


2. What is this year's Future City theme or challenge?

The 2019-2020 Future City challenge is "Clean Water - Tap into Tomorrow"! Teams will choose one potential threat to their future city’s clean drinking water. The problem should be plausible—a realistic possibility-- for the city’s location, climate, and urban challenges. As each team creates their city’s resilient water supply system, they should think about what innovations and systems can be designed to help their water supply system withstand a specific threat or stressor.


3. What does it cost to participate in the Future City program?

For NC Schools, participation in the program is FREE! The mission of the NC Regional Steering Committee is to make the Future City program available to all NC middle school students.


How much time do teachers spend on Future City in the classroom?

Teachers usually spend a couple of hours/week in the classroom on the Future City program.


4. Are there resources about the program available for educators?

Yes, there are program resources available for educators - to access them, click on the "resources" link from the national Future City home page. You may filter your search using the check boxes available.


5. How many teams can a school bring to competition?

Each school can bring up to three teams to compete in the regional competition. Each team will need at least 3 members plus an alternate.


6. Where and when will the 2020 competition take place?

The competition will be held at the NC State University McKimmon Center located at 1101 Gorman Street, Raleigh, NC 27606. The competition date is Saturday, January 25, 2020 (INCLEMENT WEATHER DATE: Sunday, February 2, 2020) and the doors will open at 8:00 A.M.


7. Is there a workshop available for teachers new to the Future City program?

Each fall, we provide a teacher workshop for anyone needing a review of the program and for new teachers. This year's workshop will be held on Saturday, September 8th at NC State's main campus in Daniels Hall, room 353 from 10 AM to 12 PM. Coffee and pastries will be served.


8. What deliverables must a team complete in order to participate in the regional competition?

To compete, teams must complete all five deliverables including the 1) City Essay, 2) City Project Plan, 3) Virtual City using the SimCity software, 4) City Model, and 5) City Presentation to compete. New teams just starting their Future City program may begin by selecting one or two deliverables and concentrating on them. Bring these deliverables to the competition and show off your work; however, only teams with all five deliverables can compete at the NC Regional Competition.


9. What grade levels can participate in Future City?

Future City is a program for middle school students - 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. If elementary or high schools want to compete within their own schools, we are happy to answer questions and provide Future City materials.


10. When are deliverables due?

The Future City deliverables are due on different dates and are listed on the calendar on our Home page. Please check there for the earliest deliverable due date updates.


11. What are the point values for each deliverable?

The total number of points for all deliverables is 258. All deliverables must be turned in along with the Competition Expense Form, Team Honor Statement and Team Media Form.

  • City Presentation: 70 points
  • City Model: 70 points
  • City Essay: 60 points
  • Virtual City: 48 points
  • City Project Plan: 10 points
  • Expense Form: no point value but must be submitted online
  • Honor Statement: no point value but must be submitted online
  • Media Release Form: no point value but must be submitted online


12. Is there a maximum budget for the deliverables?

The MAXIMUM budget is $100 for all competition related expenses. This includes posters, costumes, brochures, pamphlets, etc. Reused materials have value and their value must be estimated. In addition, all materials and expenses must be included on the Competition Expense Form.


13. How can we prepare for the judging of our deliverables?

Each deliverable has a rubric the judges will use to judge deliverables. The rubrics are available in the 2019-20 handbook and on the National Future City website. To download the handbook and / or the rubrics, go to futurecity.org, click the "resources" link at the top center of the home page and download the resources you need.


14. Where can I find the competition rules regarding the Regional and National Future City competitions?

The competition rules and policies can be downloaded here.


15. I need to get SimCity on the approved software list. Do you know what version we should use?

  • We suggest you use the most recent version of SimCity (called simply "SimCity" as opposed to "SimCity Societies," "SimCity 4," "SimCity 3/2000" etc.). Either the Standard or Complete version is fine to use for the competition.
  • Is it web based or will it need to be installed on specific computers? The SimCity program is not web-based but will need to be installed on the computers used by the Future City class.


16. I have a student who is very interested in participating, but he is moving to a magnet school next year. Do all participants need to be from the same school?

Unfortunately that is not allowed. All students participating on the same Future City team need to be from the same school (rule #2; page 82 of the handbook).


17. When I go to the Program Information page, there is a question about billing - there isn't an option for "no fee".

The Future City program IS FREE for all NC teachers and teams. We are working with National Future City to add this as an option for teachers when registering. Until then, please click the "accept" button to continue with your registration. After you click submit, you will see a message saying that you have successfully registered for Future City. No invoice will be sent to collect the $25 fee.


competition_rules_and_scoring_deductions.pdf