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5 to 8 (middle school)
social studies, public planning, civics, design
approximately 4 class periods
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This activity uses the vision, planning, and building of New York City's Central Park in the mid-19th century as a jumping-off point for students to think about designing and, perhaps, creating their own public park or space. It helps students think about community needs, park design, and civic activism.
The activity is divided into several steps: 1) thinking about different kinds of parks and the people they serve; 2) getting feedback on what the community (or class as community) wants in a park or public space; 3) park design; and 4) getting the park built. Step 4, of course, involves a lot of time and effort and can be foregone should the teacher choose.
This activity is best done as an in-class group exercise.
Start by having your students read the articles "City Parks and Playgrounds," "Olmsted's Vision," and "Whose Park Is It Anyway?"
Lead a discussion about parks and public spaces. What kinds of parks and public spaces exist in your community? What kinds of activities are permitted in parks and public spaces? Whom do various parks and public spaces serve? (For example, if a park does not have playgrounds, this discourages young children.)
How can the interests of different people be accomodated in a single public space or park? (E.g., radios versus silence or skateboarders versus walkers.)
Once the students have discussed parks and public spaces and considered the uses they can be put to, it's time to begin planning a park or public space.
- First, students should offer their suggestions. Then, since a park is inherently a public place, you might ask them to go out into the community to get feedback. This can be done among fellow students or by talking to relatives and neighbors.
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In designing the park, students are asked to consider all kinds of things from parking to landscaping to regulations. You can have the students write up a report about how their park should look, what it should include, who it should serve, and how it should be regulated. This can include both written and visual materials. It can be reproduced as a booklet and given out to the students at the end of the project or put up on a bulletin board as a display.
- Should you choose to get the students involved in actually building a park, there is a list of steps in the Activity that can be taken to make the students' park a reality. If you think this is too big or long a project, you might consider simpler activities.
Activity 1: A park clean-up. Get a crew of volunteers to pick up litter, repair broken park equipment, paint buildings, etc...
Activity 2: An addition to an existing park. Perhaps your students might want to think about something that is missing from a local park. They could design a dog run or a skateboarding site. You can have them design it and get it built.
Plan a Park
This activity has taught us the importance of planning and cooperation.
First, if you want to make something happen, you have to plan ahead and
plan carefully. That old cliche -- "the longest journey begins with a single
step" -- is so true. By planning -- by breaking a big project down into small
steps -- we can achieve almost anything. And if it's a big project,
cooperation is necessary. To use another cliche: "No one is an island."
Getting things done means getting people involved. And getting people
involved means sharing ideas and responsibilities.
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Early New York