Student Example: Land use planning and site redesign

Summary: A group of eighth graders from a southeast Michigan middle schools partnered on a land use design project with local landscape architectures. The goal: Create a site redesign for a blighted public lot near the school.The interdisciplinary project linked community history, ecology, design, and civics with skills in mapping, scientific inquiry, decision-making, and problem-solving. The students presented their work in public forums.

Activities for this project included:

• Field visits and water testing to learn about the connections between urban planning and watersheds.
• Tracing the history of the land site and mapping the surrounding neighborhood.
• Identifying and cataloging species.
• Creating plans for public space that incorporate native plants, art, picnic areas, and other features.
• Presenting models to community officials We pass by this site everyday," said a student. "I'm excited to know that people wanted our point of view."

Learn more about our programs on sustainable communities and land use, and how to engage your students in effective learning about these issues.