Why We Should Teach Our Kids Urbanism

The Prospect of a More Engaged, Tolerant, and Sustainable Future

In public school, we teach our children all of the basic things they need to be a good American citizen. Most people grow up with a strong understanding of how our state and federal governments operate but lack an overall understanding of how our cities function and develop.

My proposal? Teach our kids Urbanism 101. It will empower students to take an active role in shaping their environment and prepare them for an increasingly urban landscape.

Why this is so important:

Giving young people a voice in urban development can be very powerful. For example, children in India are working with urbanists to map out the slums they live in. By hand drawing maps of the slums, the children are outlining the neighborhood in detail and identifying problem areas such as a lack of proper lighting or accessible toilets. Giving these children a medium to explore their neighborhood has given city planners serious insight into poorly understood areas.

There are a lot of smart models about what teaching urbanism to kids could look like (some of our favorites are included at the end of this piece). One blogger even makes a compelling case of why Hey Arnold! exemplifies how children can take direct actions to improve their neighborhoods. Since plenty of resources share what to teach when connecting students with their local municipalities, I hope to explore why this sort of education is so valuable.

Reason #1: It Empowers Kids to Act Local

Public school prepared me to analyze the structure and actions of state and federal government really well. However, it left me at a loss for how to participate locally. I wondered, “What’s the difference between someone who is civically involved vs. someone involved in their community?” Can these two things mean the same thing?

We teach our kids to amplify their voices by voting, but fail to outline all of the ways they can directly improve their communities. By characterizing what exactly local governments do, how planners shape the built environment, and how community members organize to affect local changes, we can involve students in local government so they can impact their communities.

We can’t expect people to engage in local government when they do not know what is at stake. Teaching our kids about where they live and how it functions will encourage them to engage in decision-making throughout their lives.

Reason #2: It Teaches Tolerance

Sociology, a cornerstone of urban planning, allows students to examine how groups within their city behave and interact. How are neighborhoods culturally distinct from one another? What are the needs of one community vs. another — and why? Helping students ask these questions with a methodological lens will lessen the strength of their biases, allowing them to take an objective stance.

Understanding the socioeconomic diversity in a city will help kids understand the variety of experiences within their school and community. Giving our kids an opportunity to consider other perspectives in the classroom will translate into more empathetic thoughts and actions in their neighborhoods.

Reason #3: It Offers a Chance to Participate in a Sustainable Future

Today about 54% of the global population lives in urban areas and, according to the Urban Age Project, we expect 75% of people to be urbanites by 2050. While there are certain ecological benefits to living densely, climate change presents specific urban challenges. Cities will face flooding, droughts, and rising sea levels on the coast, while also generating more than 40% of greenhouse gas emissions. Making sustainability a central component of the curriculum will help students reduce their own carbon footprints, while also understanding how urban areas as a whole can develop more sustainable efforts.

We cannot expect any generation to live sustainably without exposure to the challenges and existing solutions that have already been discovered. Teaching students about the sprawl, density, and how automobiles consume energy will leave them considering alternatives from public transportation to carpooling. Exploring public infrastructures and waste management will open up conversations about efficiency and consumption.

One New York City group takes adults on Trash Walks, enabling them to explore what items get wasted most often in the more than 3 million tons of trash that NYC produces annually. Participants of the walk leave more conscientious and begin taking measures to reduce their own waste.

The problem with sustainability education is that for too many of us, the challenges of climate change feels abstract and immutable. When we learn about glaciers melting in Antarctica or the hottest year on record in a neighboring state, it is tough to connect that outcome directly to our actions and the way we structure our lives. Looking at our impact locally may change the scope.

Urbanism in the Classroom

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, flickr

Teaching urbanism in schools to students will allow us to connect their hometowns to the biggest issues of our time. By grasping the workings of local government, students will discover new avenues of civc engagement and evolve into a more informed population of citizens. Through examining socioeconomics, children will come to understand the variety of experiences of their peers. And by studying the tangible manifestations of our energy challenges of today and tomorrow, students will be better prepared to help innovate a more sustainable future.