Creating a sustainable city is no small task, especially if it’s set 150 years or more in the future. That is the task given to Patrick Schubert’s advanced 7th grade science class at Blendon Middle School, as they prepare to participate in the National Engineers Week Future City Competition (www.futurecity.org).
Students use SimCity software to plan and develop their cities, and then utilize research and technical writing skills to write an essay on transportation issues, this year’s theme, before building their futuristic cities, to scale, out of recycled materials.
On November 8, Lisa M. LaMantia, AICP, City Planner in Westerville’s Department of Planning and Development, came to talk to the pupils about the joys and challenges of city planning and how interconnected it is with everyone’s daily life. She said that during her years of schooling at The Ohio State University, she had classes that actually used SimCity to practice city planning as a career.
Understanding city gentrification, infrastructure, economics, and social norms were just a few of the topics discussed as the students prepare to compete at Columbus State University in January.