Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes	Part A: What is urban planning?
15 minutes	Part B: Fact sheet: examples of urban planning
20 minutes	Part C: Investigating structures
15 minutes	Part D: Preventative measures
45 minutes	Part E: Collaborative urban planning

Part A: What is urban planning?

Step 1.

Ask your class if they know what urban planning is and advise them on the main key points below.

Urban planning:

Engages community to ensure our towns and cities are great places to live and work
Considers how a place can be developed and maintained to contribute to the health and well-being of people
Considers the environment so native flora and fauna can continue to thrive
Considers convenience, fair access to resources and services, business and economy
Is a forward-thinking profession where patterns and behaviours such as transport, demographics and population growth are analysed to determine what is best for communities and their growth
Can ensure a city is prepared for a disaster and that development is sustainable and reduces risks of disasters.

Note: More information can be found here.

Step 2.

Relate urban planning to your local area/context and ask your students what things would have been considered in their local area during urban planning? Some guiding questions:

What are some significant natural hazards that have occurred in your area? How are they managed in the local area?
Is there a river that floods?
Are there a lot of bushlands nearby?
What is in place to maintain and manage fire in case it should occur?
Is there a meeting point in case of an emergency?

Part B: Fact sheet: examples of urban planning

Step 1.

Present the images on the Urban Planning factsheet and discuss how they help manage fire or flood. Try to relate this to the context you discussed with students in Part A, Step 2.

Part C: Investigating structures

Step 1.

Ask students to break into groups of 3 and research structures or urban planning that helps maintain a town or community. They can refer to the example in the factsheet and include others they know of. Ask your students to put this on an A4 document and share it with other groups. This can be done by pinning images where everyone can see the information or through an online platform.

Encourage students to respond to the following questions and then facilitate a class discussion:

1. Name of structure, planning or land management strategy
2. Purpose
3. Issue it manages
4. Historical examples of how the structure has assisted people or communities during a disaster.

Part D: Preventative measures

Step 1.

Ask students to remain in their groups and brainstorm vulnerabilities and preventative measures that could be implemented in their local area or around the school. Guide your students through this process and visit the AIDR website (www.aidr.org.au) to discover preventative measures in the "Education for Young People" (www.schools.aidr.org.au) section.

Part E: Collaborative urban planning

Step 1.

As a class, find a map of their local area and highlight all the landmarks. Ask students to return to their groups and draw a map of their local area on A3 paper. Tell them to draw/include current and new landmarks, and ask them to create an urban plan that they believe will increase community resilience. You could also do this task as a collage by providing images of landmarks or buildings, parks etc. they can use to communicate ideas.

Some visual examples:

Littlearchitect.aaschool.ac.uk. 2022. Drawing | Little Architect. [online] Available at: <http://littlearchitect.aaschool.ac.uk/category/drawing/> [Accessed 11 June 2022].

age Source: Naylor, L., 2022. 10 ideas for developing map skills. | Willow Lane Primary School. [online] Willow.lancs.sch.uk. Available at: <https://www.willow.lancs.sch.uk/10-ideas-for-developing-map-skills/> [Accessed 11 June 2022].

Step 2.

Present students with success criteria and discuss what is expected in order to create a resilient city that encourages sustainability and community connectivity.

These could include:

Initiatives to generate passive energy such as solar gardens
Ideas around efficient pathways, cycles ways and public transport to make it easy to move around the community
Initiatives around safety and security such as street lighting and preventative measures such as management plans or built structures that avoid disaster
Economic growth - ways to harness the communities assets to generate income for residents
The use of buildings, parks, and other landmarks as a familiar place for community gatherings for a variety of events, including celebrations, emergencies, and consultations
Community initiatives that help maintain social cohesion such as youth groups, clean-up local community days, social tree planting, or other skill-building courses
Community art centres that offer cultural experiences such as arts, crafts, music, dance, performance, and exhibitions that increase health and wellbeing.

Step 3:

Ask students to explain how their urban plan helps manage the local environment and increase resilience.

Reflection

How does urban planning impact Australia's landscape, and how can community connectivity help prepare people for a natural hazard?

Differentiated learning

Extension

Invite students to write a letter to your local council outlining an area of development to prevent fire or flood.

Provisions for learning support

Ensure you have some local examples ready for students so they can relate the lesson to their context. For example, a levee wall or water tower. In Part E, ask students to focus on one idea or success criteria and invite them to develop a vision for their local community. This could be presented in poster format.

Teacher reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Resilient Australia - Urban Planning To Build Resilience

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