THE ACTIVITIES
OTHER ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS

The following list consists of suggestions for additional classroom activities. While these are not structured lesson plans, they will provide you with ideas for shorter assignments related to understanding the impact of growth and development as well as Smart Growth principles. Each of these suggestions will require either research or classroom discussion on the subject.

A variety of activities can be incorporated when developing classroom assignments from our suggestions, including: research, written papers, oral presentations, small group discussions, classroom discussions, field trips, debates, charts, graphs, and the use of newspapers, magazines, journals, and television and radio programs. Creative activities may also be appropriate for the students such as writing skits, poetry, songs, taking photographs, drawing and painting pictures, and designing public relations graphics.

Throughout this list, we make some suggestions, but they are only suggestions. Our goal is to provide varied topical assignments. We realize that you know what is best for your students, therefore, structure the activities in the way that best serves your needs.

1. Have students research and have a classroom discussion on the benefits of utilizing Brownfields in a city. Students should be able to:

• Name three (3) different ways brownfields can be used
• Name five (5) examples throughout their state where cities have rebuilt brownfields, and:
  • Give the brownfield history of that area
  • Tell what the city did to change the area
  • Tell what groups benefit from the change(s)

2. Have students research and have a classroom discussion on the meaning of Land Buffers. Students should be able to:

• State what (if any) buffer restrictions are in their state
• Discuss why buffer restrictions are important
• Name three (3) specific places where buffers are currently in place

3. Have students research and discuss how many City Parks are in their city. Students should be able to discuss:

• Any historical significance to the parks and their names
• When these parks were built
• What services they offer
• Who they primarily serve
• Where in the city more parks could be built

4. Have students research, and write or discuss, the following relating to Transportation:

• How commuting to work has been impacted by sprawl and growth
• The average commute of someone who works in New York City, Washington, DC, and the largest city in their state
• How long commutes to work affect a person's quality of life

5. Have students research and write a paper on the pros and cons of neighborhoods with Cul-de-sacs. Students should be able to:

• Name five (5) neighborhoods in their city where cul-de-sacs do and do not exist
• Understand how interconnectivity is affected by cul-de-sacs and how this impacts a city

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6. Have students research and write a paper, poem, song, rap or skit about the Cultural Heritage of their city and their state. (Field trips could be incorporated with this activity.)

7. Have students research and have a classroom discussion regarding how much Forestland has been lost in the last 25 years. Students should understand:

• Statistics for loss of forestland throughout the world, nation, their state
• How forests benefit the environment
• What has replaced the forestland and why
• Any subsequent economic impact

8. Have a classroom discussion on Density and how this is a part of Smart Growth.

9. Have a classroom discussion on different cities that have incorporated successful Downtown Revitalization programs. Students should understand:

• What these cities were like 50, 25, 10 year ago versus today
• What caused the area to decline
• What specifically has been done through the revitalization
• What impact, economic or other, revitalization has had on the area and/or city

10. Have students research and write a summary of how many Farms have been lost in the past 25 years? Students should understand:

• Statistics for loss of farms throughout the world, nation, their state
• How farms benefit the environment and economy
• What has replaced the farms and why
• Any subsequent economic impact

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11. Have students research and write a paper on how the GI Bill, National Highways Act and the invention of the Automobile have impacted and continue to impact sprawl. (This is discussed in the documentary Paving the American Dream but much more in-depth research is available.)

12. Have a classroom discussion on the history of Flight from Cities and the current trend to Gentrification. Students should fully understand:

• What factors contributed to moving from the city
• Where people moved and why
• What influences people moving back to the city
• The meaning of gentrification
• An example of gentrification in their area

13. Have students research and write a paper about Greenspace. Students should be able to:

• Define and give an example of greenspace
• Understand the benefit(s) of greenspace
• Name five (5) cities that have passed resolutions on greenspace
• Understand any negative aspects of creating more greenspace

14. Have a classroom discussion on the history of Grids in the United States. Students should be able to:

• Name ten (10) cities that were built on a grid
• Understand the benefits of grids
• Name five (5) cities that are going back to this concept

15. Have a classroom debate on the various aspects of Personal Property Rights and Smart Growth.

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16. Have a classroom discussion on the type of Infrastructure needed in a city in order to maintain growth. Students should be able to:

• Fully define infrastructure
• Discuss a city that has inadequate infrastructure and explain why it is inadequate
• Discuss a city that has adequate infrastructure and explain why it is adequate

17. Have students research and present to the class six (6) communities or developments within a city that have been built applying Smart Growth Guidelines. (3 coastal and 3 inland.)

18. Have a classroom discussion about New Urbanism. Students should be able to:

• Fully define new urbanism
• Discuss examples of this type of community and describe its design
• Discuss the pros and cons of this type of community

19. Have students research five (5) counties that have Land Use Plans. Students should understand:

• How and why these plans were developed
• What these plans consist of
• How these plans are being implemented

20. Have a classroom discussion on the meaning of Smart Growth. Students should explain:

• The various components and give examples of each
• How the components affect each other
• How the various components impact individuals

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21. Have a classroom discussion on Mixed-Used Development. Students should define:

• What makes a mixed-use development
• The pros and cons of mixed-use developments
• Five (5 ) examples of mixed use developments

(Field trip to see a mixed-use development would be a good supplement to this activity.)

22. Have students research how development affects Run-Off. Have students write a paper explaining how run-off impacts flooding and how and why it affects our waterways.

23. Have a classroom discussion about Infill. Students should be able to:

• Define and give a local example of how infill has been accomplished
• Name five (5) abandoned buildings in their city
• Offer suggestions as to what could be done with the buildings in keeping with Smart Growth initiatives

24. Have a classroom discussion about Zoning Restrictions. Students should understand:

• How these restriction affect traffic patterns
• How these restrictions affect growth
• How these restrictions affected their city

25. Have students research the relationship between Tourism, Development and the Environment. Write a paper explaining these relationships in one area of their state.

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26. Have students redevelop an existing community or area of a community utilizing Smart Growth principles. Students should be able to:

• Give a detailed description of why this area needs to be redeveloped
• Give a detailed description of their plan of redevelopment
• Draw blueprints of their redevelopment plan

27. Have students locate on the map the communities mentioned in the Paving the American Dream: Southern Cities, Shores & Sprawl documentary. Students should be able to:

• Give detailed lists of the growth related factors affecting those cities
• Assess if those factors for the coastal and inland areas differ and if so, how they differ

28. Create a classroom debate about Smart Growth. Students should:

• Define a particular issue or hypothetical situation
• Select the role of either developer, property owner, scientist/environmentalist, or city planner
• Research how their role would be affected by that issue or situation
• Debate the pros and cons of the issue or situation "in character"

29. Have students create a public awareness campaign for Public Transportation. Students should be able to:

• Name the particular forms of public transportation in their community Identify the positive community/environmental aspects of each
• Present their campaign, including visuals, to the class

30. Create a word-search, crossword puzzle, hidden word, etc. utilizing Smart Growth vocabulary.

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31. Have students research what typical Inner-City Living is like versus typical Suburban Living. Within each, students should be able to discuss the following:

• The leisure activities available for a family, adults, teenagers, senior citizens
• The educational/cultural opportunities available for family, adults, teenagers, senior citizens
• The jobs available to adults, teenagers, senior citizens
• Volunteer opportunities available for family, adults, teenagers, senior citizens
• Commute times to a grocery store, shopping area, senior citizen center, etc.

32. Have students choose a city and research the Historical Sites of that city. Students should be able to:

• Write a detailed description of all the sites they find
• Map out where these sites are located Research and understand why these sites were built (e.g.. what is the heritage of the site, was it designed to commemorate a war, to celebrate a famous person, or did it serve a governmental purpose, etc.)
• Explain whether the sites have or have not been preserved and for those that have been preserved, explain why and what that indicates about societal values; for those that have not been preserved, decide whether or not they believe the site should be preserved, why they feel that way and what they would do about it

(This activity could include oral presentation, technology, debate, media, etc.)

33. Have a classroom discussion about Preservation of Cemeteries. You may want to:

• Discuss the following quote: "A community that does not care for, protect and preserve the cities of the dead is diminished as a place for the living."
• Have students present any personal family history from a cemetery in their city
• Visit a cemetery in their city and have students research the time period, in which a person who is buried there, lived

34. Have students brainstorm a list of Environmental Issues in the world today. Then,

• Have students form small groups and select one of the issues for further research
• Have students research their selected topic with emphasis on
  • a. Problems that are related to that issue
  • b. Causes of the problems
  • c. Effects of the problems on people, community
  • d. What students can do to help solve the problem
• Have students make a globe representing their issue
• Cut a 20 inch diameter circle from a piece of oak tag or poster board; on the front draw one hemisphere of a world global map and write the name of the group's issue on the front; on the back of the map list the findings in the research under the headings of problems, causes, effects, what we can do
• Hang the globes from the ceiling

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