A City Under the Sun

Activity 1 A City under the Sun

Grade level: Grade 7

School subject: sciences

EE objectives:  awareness,  knowledge,  state of mind.

Objectives:  Develop a desire to get involved in the sustainable development of your city.  To know the principles of sustainable cities.  Consider what is happening in your city.

Teaching strategy: Reflexive approach

Duration: 50 minutes

Required material: computer, screen and projector, Power Point presentation “A City Under the Sun”, story (Annex A), one creative journal per student (a notebook in which they will write their ideas and reflections throughout the project)

Information for the teacher: This activity will help students learn about sustainable cities. Read the story (Annex A) as the Power Point presentation moves along.

Sustainability includes a better well-being of cities or urban areas, including economic, ecological, environmental, cultural and social components which will maintain a quality of life for future generations. A sustainable city is a city where physical and social environments are constantly created and improved. In such a city, community resources grow in a way that people can help each other in every day life and in the development of their full potential.

Five important aspects come into play to observe a city’s sustainability: the social, environmental, cultural, economic and health components. If the quality of life is present in all of the components, the city will be more capable of ensuring the health of its citizens and will have a better chance of developing in a sustainable way.

On the social level: People are connected to each other, they offer each other support, they participate in public decisions and avoid mutual exploitation. This type of community, psychologically more healthy for its members, has a better chance of becoming economically prosperous and of confronting its problems successfully (Pruneau, McLaughlin and Langis, 2001). “From this point of view, the city favours social equity, offers a good quality of life and equal opportunities of development and accomplishment to all its residents. Furthermore, this city favours local participatory democracy”. (Vivre en ville, 2004, p.20).

On the environmental level: Ecosystems are stable, healthy and the resources are used in a way that they will be available on a long term basis (Pruneau et al., 2001). It is a city which sees to the conservation of its resources, does not pollute nor does it upset the environment in any way, in the present and in the future.

On the health level: People can satisfy their basic needs, demonstrate a high level of health and a low level of stress, while having access to a variety of experiences, resources and contacts within the community (Pruneau et al., 2001). Here, health is defined not only as an absence of disease but also as a full state of physical, mental and social well-being.

On the economic level: Economic resources are diversified. Companies and businesses are innovative and apply principles of self-sufficiency (Pruneau et al., 2001). “The city sees to the development and maintenance of a local and sustainable economy, to the optimisation of its investments and to its fiscal equity” (Vivre en ville, 2004, p.20).

On the cultural level: The architecture and community events encourage and demonstrate a link with the past and the natural environment (Pruneau et al., 2001).

It is important to consider the sustainable city concept like a continuous process seeking a greater sustainability rather than simply a static state to attain. In a sustainable city, we actively aim to integrate, in a sincere and formal way, the values and principles of sustainable development in all processes that touch decision making, its management and operation as well as in its planning tools and development actions (Vivre en ville, 2004).

Procedure: Step 1: Introduction Explain to the students that they will have the chance to participate in a special project in collaboration with the city of Dieppe and the Université de Moncton. Without giving too many details, hand out a creative journal to each student and explain to them that it will be for their personal notes. They can write complete sentences, parts of sentences or draw ideas. However, they will have to able to read what they wrote while doing other activities.

Step 2: A city under the sun While showing the Power Point presentation, read the story (Annex A). Tell students that during the presentation, they should write in their journal if an image or concept reminds them of a place in Dieppe. They can add their ideas and opinions.

Step 3: Reflections Invite students to discuss in groups, places they identified in Dieppe. Afterwards, have a class discussion. Talk about the aspects and principles of sustainability. Invite students to write down their observations on a poster. Each poster should have one of the aspects of sustainability in a city: social, environmental, health, economic and cultural. (We can invite students to take pictures during the next week and add them to the posters).

What conclusions can they draw? Would they like to have more information before drawing a final decision?

Ask students if they know if Dieppe has a plan, projects pertaining to the development of a sustainable city. Finish by informing them that in the next activity, they will discover what Dieppe does in the field of sustainable development.

References Pruneau, D, McLaughlin, E. & Langis, J. (2001). L’éducation à la viabilité urbaine. Des suggestions d’actions pédagogiques et environnementales. Université de Moncton. Moncton.

Vivre en ville (2004). Vers des collectivités viables. Sous la direction de Jérôme Vaillancourt. Québec. Annex A

Story to accompany the presentation

1. Once upon a time, there was a city that was proud of its development. There was a lot of work and many new families were moving to this city. The city was growing bigger and bigger. One more building. Another even taller than the others. A new store over here. A new restaurant over there. The city was growing so fast that people were starting to feel a little smothered by all the new buildings that seemed to want to block the sun.

2. The citizens would have liked a little peace and quiet in their city. Children wanted to keep on feeling the sun’s rays tickling their cheeks. Teenagers wanted to be able to explore the secrets of the forest. The adults still wanted the chance to go walking close to the water.

3. But in their city, it seemed the pavement, the buildings and cars were taking more and more room. If the number of people moving to the city seemed greater, the birds, for their part, seemed to be fleeing the city.

4. A group of teenagers decided to walk through the city. Michael, who was in this group, had just moved from the countryside. He found it difficult to adapt to city life. While walking through the city with his new friends, Michel was thought he would be able to explain to them the problems that he perceived.

We’re going to follow them while they discover their city. If you see problems that also exist in your city, you could write them down in your journal.

5. “ There are a lot of vehicles here” said Michael. “It’s true”, added Karen. “Seems to me that every summer, new streets are added. When a piece of land is paved, it’s another piece of land on which we won’t be able to cultivate anything. It’s a piece of land on which no trees will grow nor animals will live.” “Furthermore,” adds Steve, “the air becomes more polluted. When I go camping in Fundy Park, seems to me the air is better to breathe.” “And all these people that travel in cars can’t talk like we’re doing right now,” said Jack. “Imagine if each one of us were in a car! It wouldn’t be as much fun.”

6. “ You know Karen, in addition to all the new streets, there’s all those new constructions that take over agricultural lands and natural habitats” observes Michael. “All that must be expensive!”

7. The group keeps on walking. They walk by stores. Michael says they’re the same stores he saw in the city close to where he used to live. Yet, he lived on the other side of Canada. If we find some of the same stores and restaurants all across Canada, what does that mean for a city? Doesn’t it loose a bit of its identity?

8. “Look”, Michael cries out laughing. “Not only do they pave a big part of the city, but they also install carpets of grass!” “That may be the reason why birds and other species are leaving our city. With these grass carpets and exotic plants, there are not a lot of indigenous plants left” adds Alex.

9. “But you know, people travel mostly in cars, so they don’t really have time to examine plants and the grass. In fact, I think most of them don’t even know the plants and animals that live in our city,” said Steve. “The people who travel mostly by car probably don’t recognize particular aspects of our city.”

10. Our friends arrive in an industrial part of the city, but don’t stay very long. They can hardly breathe the air! The pungent smell stays in their noses for quite a while.

11. A man walks close to the teenagers. It seems he’s carrying all of his possessions. The kids lower their eyes. It seems that the city, with all its new buildings, can’t house all of its citizens. In fact, the city presents difficulties for some of the elderly people, handicapped, kids and others.

12. “ I can understand that people can be stressed out in the city,” says Karen. “With all the noise, the pollution, the vehicles… it can be difficult!”

13. Karen, Michael, Steve and Alex return to their point of departure. They are preoccupied because their city is their home. They remember the course on sustainable cities that M. Owen, their geography teacher, gave them.

14. The four friends know, however, that there are some nice things that are done in their city. They decide to go for another walk to go explore them.

15. In a new neighbourhood, indigenous trees were kept along side the street. “Seems to me it’s easier to breathe here,” notes Michael.

16. “ And look at that building,” yells Alex. “It’s different. It’s more…more… original. We could say that this building is unique. It doesn’t look like all the other buildings we see in most cities.

17. “There’s a parade here! It’s for the festival!” “Yes, and it’s our festival,” says Karen. “Here, people are smiling and don’t seem to be stressed.”

18. This is my favourite spot in the city. The bike trails and walking paths. There are lots of green spaces and we can even see birds,” says Alex.

19. “My favourite spot in the city,” says Karen “is the market. People get together and talk. It’s better than always being in a car.”

20. Steve takes his friends a little farther, where his mother is working with a group of people to restore a river. “I like this place because it’s calm,” he explains to the others.

21. “ I like to help out in the community garden. It reminds me of the fields of vegetables close to where I used to live,” adds Michael. 22. The friends walk by a parking lot with a lot of trees. They think it’s more pleasant and shaded.

23. “It’s true, there are some nice things. But, it’s not enough. I’d like to have… have… I don’t know how to explain. A place full of greens spaces, not like anything else,” says Michael. “Maybe we could ask the city to convert a part of the park,” proposes Karen.

24. And your city… how is it? Does it have some problems?

25. Does it take its place under the sun?