CUBE architivity: Grid It, Map It

Terrace Town, Madison, WI

In order to provide a quick practice session which demonstrates the interrelatedness of geography and planning, and the part which the individual plays in disrupting or improving this interdependency, create a GeoBlock game. Discuss City Planning Principles.

Use colored counting cubes defined by building use-type to make cities: red, yellow, green, blue and violet. See Building Assignment or Understanding Land Use for color designation. Participants work in small groups on large maps," each with a different land form or geographical feature-river, lake, mountain, ocean, plains. Some givens are also included such as a railroad and airport. The cities are designed within the limits of the zoning rules. Teachers can stimulate further discussion after students say they are "finished" by introducing additional topics:

Cities are subject to natural disaster: tornados, hurricanes, floods

Discuss the positive and negative aspects of disasters: for instance, a fire can lead to rebuilding the city in a more thoughtful manner.
Cities which have emergency plans in place are able to carefully evaluate conditions and proceed (i.e., Charleston after Hurricane Hugo, 1989).
Cities which have not planned for emergencies, often tear down or destroy needlessly, thus jeopardizing the character of the city (i.e., San Francisco after 1989 earthquake).

Cities are subject to manmade disasters: urban renewal; fires; explosions (Chicago, 1871); environmental pollution (Chernobyl, Russia, 1986; Love Canal, Niagara Falls area, 1978)

Discuss what happens when a city council votes to add "skywalks". For example skywalks in Des Moines, IA cut off the view of the capitol building and destroyed scale and street level shopping activity. (This also occurred in other American cities.)
Discuss what happens when a developer plans a building and tears down existing housing or structures, but the new building is never built (interruption of street scape, loss of "visual history" of city).

Other possibilities to introduce:

it is discovered that a historic trail cuts through the city
a freeway bond issue passes

Finish by photographing the finished cities (blocks and maps) with Polaroid instant film. Attach to paper and have members of each group sign. As a group, compare the differences in the various maps. What difference does the particular geographic feature make in the organization of the city? Document what was discovered during this process. Use the work sheet called Group Record.

Topics such as City Planning Principles referred to in this document are included in the GeoBlock Game activities packet or in the curriculum, Box City.