2. Redesigning Your Community Now you are going to get a chance to build a more sustainable version of your community from scratch You will look up inforrnation about your community in order to understand the population's needs Your goal is to solve some of the environmental challenges your community faces. In order to accomplish this task, let's break it down into smaller steps:
a Begin making a map of your new community. Use a blank sheet of paper thin enough that you can trace on a computer screen. With a ruler and pencil, make a box that measures precisely 6 inches by 6 inches. Then use the ruler and pencil to make a grid inside the box, with a line at every 1/2 inch. Make these grid lines light, because you will be drawing over thern. You should end up with a grid that contains 13 vertical liries and 13 horizontal lines. Put a small dot in the center of your grid, where vertical line 7 and horizontal line 7 meet. On this grid, each box represents 1/4 square mile of your new community
b. To the right of your grid, make a legend that shows that 1 inch= 1mi . Also include the following entries in this legend You can write each of the first 11 entries in a different color or place a box of the designated color next to each one Design a unique symbol for each of the 11 remaining features (5 points)
c. Use the gov website for your city, township, or county to look up the population density of your area. Add this number to your map's legend
d. Use the link provided on the landing site to go to Google Maps. Select a section of your community that measures 6 miles by 6 miles (36 square miles). To select your neighborhood, type in your address. You can also search the map for an area that interests you.
e. Center the area you selected, and then zoom until the scale in the bottom-right corner says 1 inch equals 1 mile Change the map to Satellite or Earth view (bottom-left or upper-right options) to see the geography of the area
f. Hold the map grid up to the computer screen. Line up the dot in the center with the marker for your address or with another feature of interest. Fill in the map by tracing any natural, geographical features. These features could include rivers, mountain areas, national parks, etc. These natural areas will have to be included in your community. Your tracing does not have to be exact, but you want to have a general idea of where those areas are because you cannot develop on them Count the nurnber of boxes you used for natural areas (you may have to estimate), and color these areas as your legend indicates. How many boxes were there for natural areas?
g. Add two endangered species that need to be protected to your map. If you know where two specific species live, reflect that. If not, decide where they will be Add a symbol for each species
h. Design your community to include everything in the legend. Use these tips for completing the map (15 points)
• Use pencil, and don't color until the end, since you will likely need to erase!
Be sure to include all aspects of the legend and in the checklist that follows.
• You have a total of 144 boxes on your grid. After your natural areas are placed on the map, it may be helpful to count how many boxes you have left (144 minus the number of boxes used for natural areas). What is that number?
• Once you know how many boxes you have to work with, start adding up how many you need for each checklist item before you begin adding items to your map. You can write the number of boxes you want to use next to each checklist entry. That way, you can adjust your ideas without having to erase too much on your map. Don't draw your map until you have the right number of boxes for each category
• Some natural features may require only a portion of a box. You can estimate as you go (drawing half a feature on one box and half on another is fine).
• Don't just draw a map of your current community! Think about sustainability, and redesign the community from scratch to better preserve the environment
• Remember that there are trade-offs in everything. Having a lot of parks for people is great, but it destroys the natural habitats and reduces biodiversity Putting everyone in high-rise apartments frees up space, but causes traffic. Think about the trade-offs as you design.
Checklist
Check each step you complete as you go
Protect the endangered species and preserve biodiversity in your community. To do this, make sure there is enough natural land surrounding them rather than high- population or pollution-inducing areas.
Decide how people will live in your community. You can have any mix of housing options to cover that number of people. Decide how to distribute the people living in your community, and figure out the number of boxes for each category.
Recall the population density of the people you need to house. Answer
• Recall the number of boxes you have left after the natural areas (144 minus the number of boxes used for natural areas). Divide that number by 4 (since each box is 1/A mile). This is the number of boxes where people could live. Answer.
. Multiply the population density by the number of boxes. This will give you the number of people you need to house in your redesigned community Answer
. Low-density housing consists of single-farnily homes with large areas of land around them (such as a large yard or very small farm not an agricultural area) You can house 200 people per box in low-density housing Number you need
• Medium-density housing consists of single-family homes with small to average sized yards. You can house 500 people per box in medium-density housing Number you need
• High-density housing consists of aparments or condos, where numerous familiies live in the sarne building or complex You can house 2000 people per box in high density housing. Number you need:
• Very high-density housing consists of high-rise appartments or condos, where many families live in the same building. You can house 10,000 people per box in very high-density housing. Number you need.
Decide how you will get food in your community. The more agriculture you have, the less air pollution there will be from shipping food but the more ground and water pollution there will be from farms. You also lose biodiversity by planting crops or raising cattle. You can choose a few options with trade-offs for the number of people in your community:
• You can feed 100 people per box with agricultural land if they eat local food and no animal products (vegan).
• You can feed 75 people per box with agricultural land if they eat local food that includes meat
• You can have people eat a combination of local and store-bought food, but shipping in food to stores will increase the air pollution due to trucking You also need to add 1 box of commerical area for every 20,000 people not eating local food. So add up your agricultural land and multiply by the number of people it feeds. Then subtract that amount from the total population to see how many people are eating nonlocal food. Divide that number by 20,000 to see how many additional commercial boxes you need Answer.
Decide how many industrial and commercial areas to have You need a minimum of 5 boxes of each, and may need more commercial areas, depending on your food decisions for the community. Realize that your community can make more money and have a higher average income with more industries but that your pollution levels will go up. Add 1 waste management site for every additional industry box over 5. Answer.
Decide how many of each of these you will need if each takes up 1 box
• 1 hospital per 50,000 people
• 1 high school per 40,000 people
• 1 elementary/middle school per 20,000 people
• 1 park or natural land per 20,000 people (you decide on a traditional grass park or more natural land)
1 waste management site per 50,000 people (add 1 waste site for every additional industry box)
• 1 government building
Decide what kind of power your community will use. You need one option for your map
• Traditional fossil fuels or nuclear power plants take up 2 boxes but generate a lot of pollution or waste.
• Wind or solar power take up 5 boxes but generate almost no pollution.
• River or tidal power takes up no boxes (place thern in the river/ocean) and generate almost no pollution, but you need to have a large river or section of ocean nearby
Decide how to space everything in your community. Do people live near each other, with the comirnercial and agricultural areas across town? Do people live interspersed with the comrnercial centers and industries, with a large agricultural area nearby? Do people live in high-rises next to the agricultural land that feeds them? You decide Place the boxes on the map, move them around, and color them in/add your symbols.
Double-check that you've included everything from the legend and can check off every box on the checklist. Make sure every square on your grid has a purpose and that there are no blank squares. If you have a blank square, decide what to fill it with. After all of the land is desigriated, draw in roads, light-rail systems, train tracks, and aqueducts. Be sure there are adequate water supplies for the housing areas and farms (from a river or lake, or through an aqueduct that enters your community from somewhere else).
Take a picture of your map and include it with your assignrnent.
Part II-B: Project Analysis and Conclusions (10 points)
1. What legislative act do you think has made the biggest impact on the world? On your community? Why? Answer in one or two paragraphs (2 points)
2. Describe the steps you took in designing your city. How did breaking it down into smaller steps make the process easier? (1 point)
3 What were the most challenging decisions you made when designing your community? Why? (1 point)
4. Evaluate the positive and negative aspects of your newly designed community. Write three paragraphs, the first describing in detail at least three positive aspects, and the second describing in detail at least three negative aspects. Finish by describing whether you would want to live in your city, and why or why not. (6 points)
Part I: Background Check (10 points) - this page is only Part 1 of the Project, Part 2 is in a separate Document
1. Read all the instructions for the project, including the questions you will answer after your observations are complete.
2. During the project, you will use multiple online sources. Explore the website listed on the landing page of this assignment, and list other websites you will use to complete the project. Describe how you can know that you are finding good, reliable, unbiased information (4 points)
3. State the city, county, and state in which you live (or township, county, and state if you live in a rural area). Identify and describe at least one thing you would like to see changed in order to make your community more sustainable. What challenges do you think might come with this change? Do you know of any legislation that might regulate this issue? (6 points)
1. Legislative act that has made the biggest impact on the world is the Clean Air Act, which has helped improve air quality and reduce air pollution globally. In my community, I think the Clean Water Act has made the biggest impact as it has helped protect our local water sources and ensure clean, safe drinking water for residents.
2. The steps I took in designing my city included creating a map, determining population density, deciding on housing options, allocating space for agriculture, industrial and commercial areas, and planning for essential services like schools, hospitals, and waste management. Breaking down the process into smaller steps made it easier to focus on each aspect and ensure that all necessary components were included in the design.
3. The most challenging decisions I made when designing my community were deciding on the balance between housing options and the impact on the environment, determining the distribution of agricultural land and food sources, and figuring out the placement of industrial and commercial areas to minimize pollution levels. These decisions were challenging because they required trade-offs and considerations of sustainability and environmental impact.
4. Positive aspects of my newly designed community include ample green spaces and natural areas for biodiversity and recreation, diversified housing options to accommodate different lifestyles and needs, and sustainable energy sources like wind or solar power to reduce pollution. Negative aspects include potential conflicts between housing and natural areas, increased pollution levels from industrial areas, and potential strain on resources from a growing population. Overall, I would want to live in my city because of its focus on sustainability, green spaces, and diversity in housing options, but I would also be cautious of potential challenges such as pollution and resource management.
Part I: Background Check
1. Other websites I will use to complete the project include government websites for population density and legislation related to sustainability in my community. I can ensure that I am finding good, reliable, unbiased information by cross-referencing information from multiple sources, checking for credibility of the sources, and looking for evidence-based research and data.
2. I live in Los Angeles, California. One thing I would like to see changed in my community to make it more sustainable is the implementation of stricter regulations on emissions from vehicles and industries to improve air quality. This change may face challenges such as resistance from stakeholders like car manufacturers and industries, funding for enforcement and compliance, and balancing economic growth with environmental protection. Legislation such as the California Air Resources Board regulations may regulate this issue.
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