Design a city: a project-based unit for grades 5 to 9

Why this project works

A design a city project lets students apply geography, math, civics and science to one big question: what does a place need so that people can live well there? There is no single right answer, so students must explain trade-offs, which is where the deepest learning happens.

Real planners face the same questions. Programs such as the Urban Land Institute's UrbanPlan for high schools and PBS's "Re-design your community" project show how well students respond to authentic planning challenges.

Before you start

• Form teams of three or four and give each student a role: planner, engineer, environmental officer, community advocate.
• Give each team a large sheet of paper or a shared digital map, rulers and colored pencils.
• Decide the constraints: a river, a hill, a fixed budget of "building points", or a population target.
• Show students this site's six worlds as examples of very different answers to the same needs.

Day-by-day plan

• Day 1 - What does a city need? Brainstorm, then explore the Compare page: water, gathering places, safe travel and nature.
• Day 2 - Study an example. Each team explores one world on this site and lists five buildings and the needs they meet.
• Day 3 - Choose a site and draw the base map: water source, high and low ground, where flooding happens.
• Day 4 - Place the essentials: water supply, homes, schools, health care, food, jobs and streets. Use a scale.
• Day 5 - Add the good stuff: parks, public squares, libraries, places to gather. Check walking distances.
• Day 6 - Stress test: a heatwave, a flood, a power cut or a population boom. What changes?
• Day 7 - Present to the "city council" (the class). Council members ask one question each.
• Day 8 (optional) - Reflection: what would you change after hearing other teams?

Math and science connections

Use scale drawings and area: if one square is 100 meters, how much land do the homes take? Compare apartments and houses for the same number of people. Calculate walking times at about 5 kilometers per hour. Ask how many people one water tower or one school can serve.

Assessment ideas

• Map (25%): clear, labeled, to scale, with a key.
• Needs met (25%): water, homes, food, health, learning, transportation and nature are all provided for.
• Reasoning (25%): each major choice is explained, including trade-offs.
• Fairness and access (15%): can everyone, including people who cannot drive or who use wheelchairs, reach what they need?
• Presentation (10%): clear, shared among the team, answers questions.

Questions students and teachers ask

Building pages to use with this guide

• Modern TownStreets and crosswalksStreets are a town's largest public space. Their design decides whether walking, cycling and crossing feel safe.
• Modern TownWater systemHidden pipes, pumps and treatment plants bring clean water to every tap and carry dirty water safely away.
• Modern TownCity parkTrees, grass, paths and water in the middle of town: free space to play, relax and cool down.
• Ancient RomeForumThe central open square of a Roman town, surrounded by temples, law courts, shops and government buildings.
• Elven Green WorldRain garden courtAn imagined courtyard garden that drinks the rain. Real rain gardens catch storm water and stop flooding.
• Robotic FutureLife support domeThe machinery that keeps air breathable, removes carbon dioxide and controls temperature: the beating heart of any space home.