City Planning Designs

Summary

Students compare several Utah municipalities. Students recognize the influence of environment, philosophy, and planning on the ways in which cities are organized.

Materials

• Background lesson: "Cities and Towns: Cool Places to Live"
• Handout: "City Planning Designs" (pdf)
• Compare and Contrast Handout: "Ophir Town and Bountiful City" (pdf)
• Prepare overheads of photos: Bountiful (1959) (pdf), Fountain Green (1900) (pdf), Downtown Salt Lake City (1972) (pdf), and Ophir (1910) (pdf).
• Writing paper, grid, or drawing paper.

Background for Teachers

Enduring Understanding

Some cities are carefully planned and others evolve. City planning influences city growth and function.

Essential Questions

How does planning benefit a community?

What city planning design or designs are found in your community?

Objectives

Students will understand that cities are organized in a variety of ways; some cities evolve while others are carefully designed by city planners. Students will use what they have learned to design and describe a variety of simple communities.

Instructional Procedures

Setting the Stage

• Show the overhead view of Salt Lake City.
• Ask students to identify the Utah city shown in the photo. Discuss what clues might help them to identify the city (Mormon temple, tabernacle, tall buildings, and a large city center).
• Draw attention to the grid-shaped blocks. Ask students what shape they notice in the design of Salt Lake City. (A grid design using square blocks.)
• Explain that although cities are unique, most follow organizational plans.

Activity: City Planning"

• Read and discuss as a class "Cities and Towns: Cool Places to Live". (pdf)
• Distribute the "City Planning Design" handout (pdf). Read and discuss each design plan with the class.
• Ask students which plan might have been used by Brigham Young? Which plan might have been used by medieval cities during the Renaissance?
• Compare the photos of Bountiful, Fountain Green, Ophir, and Salt Lake City. Using the "City Planning Design" handout, ask students which design plan was used to plan each city. (Bountiful, Fountain Green, and Salt Lake City use the grid design; Ophir uses the geography design.)
• Distribute and read the information about Ophir Town and Bountiful City (pdf).
• Discuss the differences in the two cities. (Explain that Ophir was a mining town, developed very quickly, and did not follow a formal plan. Bountiful was carefully planned following the Grid Design.)
• Review the list of city officials employed by both cities. What can be learned about each city by reading the list of job titles? (Job titles describe the types of services most needed by the community.)
• Read the descriptions of each town. What can you learn about the founders? (Ophir was a mining town; Bountiful was a Mormon settlement - they celebrate the 24th of July and Handcart Days.)

Activity: Create Your Own City Design

• Divide students into small groups.
• Pass out large sheets of drawing or butcher paper.
• Assign a different "City Planning Design" to each group. Students will use their design style to plan a future Utah city or town.
• Students will determine what is unique about their town and will give the town a name.
• Students will identify areas for schools, homes, businesses, churches, stores, etc. Students will sketch their city plan. (Students may wish to discuss their ideas and create a rough draft before drawing their final plan.)
• Each group will share their drawings and plan for a city. They will describe aspects of their community and will explain the advantages of their particular plan.

Extensions

• Students may write a story about the people who choose to live in their community. They will describe life in the city and explain how their design reflects community values.

Bibliography

This lesson plan is part of the Utah League of Cities and Towns This Must be Utah! A Teacher's Guide to Utah Cities and Towns

• Author: Sheri Sohm
• Editor: Sydney Fonnesbeck , Director of Training
  Utah League of Cities and Towns