Urban Planning Pacing Guide

Geography – Mr. Gausman2015

TERMINOLOGY:Zone: an area or district defined by its land use

• Industrial: district or area zoned for industrial land use only, such as manufacturing, factories, mining, etc.

• Residential: district or area zoned for private residences only, such as single family homes, townhouses, or apartments.

• Commercial: district or area zoned for commercial use only, such as shopping, theatres, offices, restaurants, etc.

• Mixed-Use: a combination of commercial and residential land uses; typically, residential uses are built on top of commercial stores.

• Waste Management: the collection, transport, and disposal of waste, such as trash, sewage, or chemicals.

Goal

• You are given the task of developing the open land east of Aurora. You and your group need to create and build your own urban development while focusing on solutions to typical urban sprawl problems.

Create and build your own city!

Rules:• 225 acres limitation (225 squares on graph paper)

– 1 square = 1x1 = 1 acre• $200,000,000 (million) budget• Must include 7 specific buildings • Must include minimum amount of spaces for Industrial, Commercial,

and Residential zones• Must address transportation, waste management, parks and recreation,

and entertainment as well

*Reference Packet full of specific choices of buildings and ideas will be provided to choose from

Grading Criteria:

• You MUST turn in the following:– BLUEPRINT of your city layout on graph paper– VISUAL replica of your city from various ideas– WRITTEN SUMMARY of what your focus was and

why you chose your specific city layout

• Projects will be presented!• Projects will be analyzed and voted on by students

and teachers!• This counts as 3 SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS!

The Blueprint…

Rewards/Incentives:

• By a vote:– 1st place team gets a “food” party TBD by group

and teacher• Could include breakfast, pizza, restaurant gift cards

– 2nd place team will receive “free” homework passes

Choose your group!

Then…

“Divide and Conquer!”

Step 1: Urban Issues

• Decide your focus. What urban issue are you going to focus on addressing in your urban development?

– Pollution?– Transportation issues (traffic and commute)?– Lack of space?– Taking over farmland?

Step 2: Development Focus

• In addressing one of the urban issues, try to figure out your city layout and your development focus.

– Will your city be industrial-based?– Will your city be a quiet neighborhood?– Will your city be a haven of entertainment and

shopping?– Will your city include “New Urbanism” ideas?– Will your city be dominated by rural, farmland?

Think about positives and negatives to each!

Step 3: Brainstorm the City Layout

• Start putting together ideas, brainstorming what makes your “ideal” or “perfect” city. What do YOU want to see in a city?

• Begin with the LAYOUT on how the city will look from a “bird’s eye view”. Symmetrical grid? Randomness? Circular? Sections?

• Consider some traditional ideas…

Examples of City Layouts…

• Google the following:– “city layouts”– “city diagrams”– “city design”– “urban layouts”

Traditional Model

Multiple Levels

Backwards Model

Commercial

ResidentialIndustrial

Parks/Rec

Random OR Gridlock

Step 4: Factors to Consider• Besides budget and space, you also need to realize that

each “zone” or building has 2 other factors related to it:

– Environmental Impact: • Positive impact means less pollution or less impact on natural

environment. This is a good thing!• Negative impact means more pollution and bigger impact on natural

environment. This is bad!

– Desirability:• Positive means people want this…it creates jobs, makes people

healthier, happier, or more sociable• Negative means people don’t really want this…it’s a nuisance, it’s noisy,

it’s dirty, it’s not a good neighbor!

Consider:Part of your grade will be reflected in your Environmental Impact and Desirability scores. The higher they are, the better score you receive!

Step 5: Transportation

• What kinds of transportation do you want to include?• Will your city be pedestrian-friendly where

everything is walking distance?• Will you be environmentally friendly considering

electric cars and bikes?• Will you take the cheap route and keep a busy, gas-

guzzling city?

Read and check out your options!

Consider: •Sidewalks?•Streets?•Pedestrian walkways with no streets?•On-street parking? Parking garages?•Bike lanes?

Types:• Light Rail (electric)• Commuter Train (pollution)• Subway• Elevated Train• Bus system• Rent-a-bike• Rent-a-car (electric)

Traffic circles? Traditional intersections? Other?

Step 6: Waste Management

• Landfill: landfills are basically garbage dumps, where waste material is disposed of by being buried and covered with soil. Very cheap, but can ruin the environment. Chemicals and liquids spill out and effect the land and soil around it. Creates a lot of pollution and not a great neighbor!

• Space = 3x3 Cost = $3m EI = -4Desirability = -4

• Recycling Center: Help convert much of the waste your population creates into reusable materials, especially plastic, paper, and metals. Although noisy, it is desired by most people and helps save the environment!

• Space = 2x2 Cost = $10m EI = +2Desirability = +3

• Compost Heap: Imagine taking some of the created waste from your city and converting it into fertilizer and fertile soil! Decomposable garbage, such as food waste, can be turned into natural fertilizer good for crops. It’s a fairly nasty process and can take awhile but very helpful for the environment.

• Space = 2x2 Cost = $12m EI = +3Desirability = +3

Pay other cities!

Don’t want to deal with waste or garbage at all?

• Consider paying other cities to take your waste for you. This is the cleanest and most desired process by your residents but you will have to pay multiple cities to handle your waste, which can be very expensive. This is the New York City way!

*Takes up no space! EI = +4 Desirability = +4Cost = $25m!