Global Geography 12

Unit VII: Urbanization & Cities

Please note: This unit is recommended to span 4 weeks (20 classes). We have covered approximately half of the unit in our proposed lesson plans.

Summary This unit is meant to foster an understanding of the life cycles of cities: that is, why cities exist; how cities came about (the shift from hunter-gatherer living to agricultural societies); major shifts in urbanization (the Industrial Revolution); how cities ourish and why they decline; and the importance of resources. In addition, this unit should cement an understanding of cities with the way in which students interpret and understand where they live. By connecting place with theory, students should come away with a grounded and living understanding of urbanization and how it impacts their lives. GCOs & SCOs Unit objective: To examine the worldwide phenomenon of urbanization leading to cities as the chosen habitat for much of the planets population. SCOs covered in lesson plans included below: 7.1 The Drift to Cities 7.1.1 The Location of Cities 7.1.2 The Composition of Cities 7.1.3 Rural to Urban Migration Patterns 7.2 The Growth and Decline of Cities 7.2.1 Stages of City Growth 7.2.2 Cities in Crisis Resources Global Connections: Geography for the 21st Century. Barry Corbin, John Trites, & Jim Taylor. Print. (See Unit VII, 319-385.) Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. Norton. Print. PBS. Guns, Germs, and Steel. YouTube (or through PBS website). The Effects of Urbanization (Preserving Beechville) (http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=F_zc2Djzg1I) F. Ujoh. Understanding Urban Sprawl in the Federal Capital City, Abuja: Towards Sustainable Urbanization in Nigeria. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning 3.5: 106-113. (http://www.academicjournals.org/JGRP) Elvin Wyly. Contemporary Urbanization and Global City-Systems. Urban Studies 2010. (http://www.geog.ubc.ca/~ewyly/u200/contemporary.pdf)

Proposed Timeline Lesson 1: From Rural to Urban: A Citys Story Lesson 2: Urbanization: Rural to Urban Migration Patterns Lesson 3: Halifax & Urbanization: Bringing it Home Field Trip: A Walk around Halifax Lesson 4: City Composition (Field Trip follow-up)* Lesson 5: Cities in Crisis: A Global Scale* Lesson 6: Urban Planning* Lesson 7: Controlled Growth Strategies*
* = plan not included

2-3 classes 2-3 classes 1-2 classes 1 class (+ extra) 2-3 classes 3 classes 2 classes 2 classes TOTAL: 15-19

Lesson 1:
From Rural to Urban A Citys Story
Created by Rebekah Wheadon

Summary

This lesson focuses on how a city develops, on the underlying trends of urbanization, and on the importance of resources and how those resources change in importance based on a citys development (agricultural, industrial, etc.). The approach to this lesson is primarily conceptual, but also relies on the collaborative creation of denitions and group work/discussion. The student should come away from the lesson with a good grasp on how cities originate, why they are where they are, and how resources impact a citys development. Ideally, the student should leave with a concept of what a city is, and what attributes are necessary for a city to be a city. 7.1.1 (To examine and explain the location and pattern of urbanization in the world; 7.1.1 (To understand the degree of urbanization before the Industrial Revolution, and the degree of urbanization today); 7.1 (To understand and explain the location of the worlds largest urban centres, what they have in common). Atlases and world maps Have maps/atlases accessible Photocopy attributes worksheet Prepare city list to assign to groups Prepare hand-outs on concept checks

Objectives

Outcomes Met

Materials Pre-Work

Plan Cities & Resources Warm-Up (1 class) 1. Pull up a world map, and ask students to list off cities they know the locations of they can come and put them on the map. Good options (see attached map for locations): New York, USA Shanghai, China Oslo, Norway Istanbul, Turkey Mumbai, India What do these cities have in common? (location, location, location waterway, resources, trade routes) Make a list. 2. Distribute Attributes Worksheets. Group work. How do we differentiate between a city and a not-city? What makes a city spring up in one place, but not another? Develop a conceptual system as a class once group work is completed. 3. In groups, the students will be assigned major cities. Then, students will do brief research on each city and determine how their city ts within our denition. Each group will produce a checklist on the attributes of their city for an early assessment this will be done like a concept check. Work to be completed during class time. Major Transitions Main Act (0.5-1 class) 1. Mini-lecture: Guns, Germs, and Steel: In order to introduce the transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural, well watch a section of Jared Diamonds Guns, Germs, and Steel (YT video 10:30 24:00). Then well discuss the transition as a class, hit upon the major points (rich agricultural area; how this allows the development of specialized skills; when farming becomes more efcient, larger populations, etc.). Industrial Revolution: A brief lecture here on the Industrial Revolution, and how that shifts the importance of resources available to a city. Dont give away too much; just get the ball rolling the students minds. 2. Break into groups to discuss; come up with three changes (half of the groups from hunter-gatherer to agricultural.; half for Industrial Revolution), ranked in levels of importance. Discuss as a class; each group should be prepared to defend how theyve ranked their factors.

Wrap-Up Conclusion 1. As a re-cap, we will collaboratively develop a list of questions the (0.5 class) students feel their peers should know. This will not only provide a good list of resources for the students, but should also reify the important concepts in students minds in order for the rest of the unit. 2. An individual concept check will be assigned as homework. See assessment section for details. Assessment Concept Check (group): In a group, students will be checked on their understanding of the importance of resources to a citys health. Concept Check (individual): 1. Choose any large city in the world and list factors that may have contributed to its location. Rank in order of importance. Write a paragraph justifying your choices. 2. List three reasons why Halifax is located where it is. Imagine that it is 1749 (on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution) and rank the geographical factors in terms of importance. Now think of current times: has the ranking changed? Why or why not? Justify in two paragraphs. (Students will complete one of two) Adaptations Adaptation for student with ADHD: Each class will begin with a clear delineation of whats ahead for that day. Each group will be given clear instructions for their work, and it will be broken into small steps (chunked into manageable pieces). If students nish work ahead of schedule in the wrap-up portion of the class, they can have class time to work on their homework. Jared Diamonds Guns, Germs, & Steel documentary series: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyRa5P6xVo8 Global Connections: Geography for the 21st Century. Barry Corbin, John Trites, & Jim Taylor. See Unit VII, 319-385. No readings assigned to students for this section, although it should be mentioned that the textbook covers much of the material were doing in class. If students feel a little unsure, textbook is an excellent resource as a refresher.

Extensions Research

Readings

Attributes of a City
Attribute Essential Non-Essential Examples

Feel free to use this space for non-linear brainstorming, concept-mapping, etc.

Lesson 2:
Urbanization Rural to Urban Migration Patterns
Created by Stephanie Mawdsley

Summary

This lesson focuses primarily on rural to urban migration patterns on both the local and global scale. Conceptual learning will be utilized in particular in order for students to comprehend concepts such as push and pull factors, emigration, immigration, suburbanization, and urban sprawl. Discussion, brainstorming, and group work will also be utilized. By the end of this lesson, students will: Gain a better understanding of rural to urban migration patterns from the local to the global scale by learning about important concepts relating to urbanization including push and pull factors (economic, political, social, environmental factors), emigration, immigration, in order to determine why varying individuals (families, women, men, workers, students, etc.) move to cities Be able to critically determine reasoning for why many individuals in the west tend to emigrate from the city (suburbanization) while in the developing world increasing numbers of individuals are immigrating to cities, particularly rural non-farm populations; Be able to determine what urban sprawl is as well as the pros and cons. 7.1.2 (the difference between urban, suburban, and rural); 7.1.3 (why people move to cities); 7.1.3 (emigration from city in the developed world; immigration to city in developing world; 7.1.3 (urban sprawl) Loose leaf/blank paper for student participation. Photocopy hand-outs Prepare T-Charts

Objectives

Outcomes Met

Materials Pre-Work

Plan Warm-Up At the beginning of the lesson, ask students to raise their hand if (0.5 class) they have ever lived in a rural area and moved to the city and vice versa. Ask why they made this move. Mention that the majority of the worlds population currently lives in urban centres whereas this was not the case one hundred years ago. Have them suggest reasons for why this has happened and continues to happen and link this lesson to previous lesson concerning urbanization. Main Act (2 class) Class One 1. Understanding push and pull factors. Ask the class to come up with denitions for push and pull factors. After providing a denition, arrange students in groups of three or four and have them discuss reasons why they think someone would want to leave the place they are living or move to a specic place. Ask them to think about why varying individuals (families, women, men, workers, students, etc.) would want to move to/from an area and list the pros and cons to both rural and urban living. Have students arrange their ndings in T-Charts and shufe group work around for class-wide collaboration. 2. Comprehending emigration vs. immigration. Have the class come up with denitions for emigration and immigration. Select four or ve students to come to the front of the classroom and give them each a slip of paper in order to demonstrate these concepts. Write a few sentences on these slips of paper describing a ctitious individual who is either an emigrant or immigrant to a place or country and include push and pull factors for why they are moving to or from somewhere. Have the other students determine whether the individual is either emigrating or immigrating. Students will next to write their own paragraph creating their own character who has emigrated from one country and has become an immigrant to another and have them explain why they have left. At the end, assign students Chapter VII to read for homework. Tell them we will be covering these ideas in class, but it will help if theyre familiar. Students with reading difculties can practice by scanning the headings a method we will have already covered in class.

Class Two 1. Learning about Emigration. Drawing upon the concepts of emigration/immigration and push/pull, ask students at the beginning of the class why they think individuals in the West would emigrate from the city while people in the developing world tend to immigrate to the city (particularly those from rural non-farming populations). Also be sure to introduce/reintroduce the concept of suburbanization. 2. Teaching about urban sprawl. Ask students to take out a piece of paper and brainstorm what comes to mind when they think of urban sprawl (between at least 5 and 10 things). On the back of the paper, have them draw a mental map of what they think urban sprawl looks like and have them pass it in at the end of class. Then provide a denition of urban sprawl and have the class provide pros and cons. Conclusion 1. Have students discuss which concepts they found most and (0.5 class) least interesting concerning the urbanization unit so far and why. 2. Have students research rural to urban migration in a city they have either been to, lived in, or one that is nearby. Have them write a 1 page report about why urbanization occurred in this city and discuss the following concepts (push and pull factors, emigration, immigration, urban sprawl). Assessment Students will be assessed individually for participating in small/and or large group discussion in relation to the concepts discussed within class involving urbanization. Students will also be assessed through a written one page assignment in which they must discuss rural to urban migration in a city that they have either been to, lived in, or one that is nearby. In order to successfully complete this assignment, students should think about why urbanization occurred in this urban centre and consider concepts such as push and pull factors, emigration, immigration, and urban sprawl in their response.

Adaptations

For students with ADHD, adaptations to the lesson could include: Giving a structured overview before the lesson; Providing a copy of teacher or peer notes to allow the student to focus on listening; Enabling the student to tape record material presented verbally; Colour coding with chalk or pens to add emphasis; Providing turn and talk or activity breaks to assist the students ability to focus on instruction; Provide additional time to complete assignments; Providing checklists, outlines, advanced organizers, etc., to assist in assignment completion; Require the completion of fewer examples while maintaining the conceptual difculty of the assignment.
From: British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2011). Special Education: Teaching Students with Attention-Decit/Hyperactivity Disorder http:// www.bced.gov.bc.ca/specialed/adhd/app4.htm (Retrieved Wednesday November 7, 2012).

Extensions

1. Ask students to write a postcard from the point of view of an immigrant to their family back home describing life in the city. Make sure that they research information on the city they have chosen to write about. Global Connections: Geography for the 21st Century. Barry Corbin, John Trites, & Jim Taylor. See Unit VII, 319-385. Chapter from Global Connections.

Research Readings

Lesson Three
Halifax & Urbanization: Bringing It Home
Created by Lenardo Simmonds

Summary

This lesson helps students understand why and how Halifax was chosen as the capital city of Nova Scotia, with regards to settlements, land location, and patterns. It addresses growth strategies and urbanization, and works to connect the ideas developed in the unit thus far with lived experience. By using group work and discussion, students will apply the concepts from the previous lessons to a discussion of Halifax, as well as extending upon previous work by conceptualizing a citys lifespan. Students should come away from the lesson with an understanding of how what weve been learning applies to specic cities; they should also begin to see cities more as dynamic centres rather than static places. This lesson should lay the foundation for the eld trip and help students start thinking geographically. 7.1.1 (To examine and explain the location and pattern of urbanization in the world; 7.1 (To understand and explain the location of the worlds largest urban centres, what they have in common); 7.1.3 (why people move to cities); 7.1.3 (emigration from city in the developed world; immigration to city in developing world); 7.2.1 (stages of city growth); 7.2.2 (cities in crisis) None. Prepare initial slideshow Photocopy articles/hand-outs Hand out eld trip summary, so students can connect what were doing in class with eld trip

Objectives

Outcomes Met

Materials Pre-Work

Plan Warm-Up Note several capital cities around the world (may use visual aid (integrated into slide show of pictures hinting to reasons for urbanization), end on Main Act) Halifax, Nova Scotia. Pose the question: Why do you think Halifax became a capital city?

Main Act Pose the question: What does the physical make-up of Halifax tell (1-2 classes) us about the affects of urbanization in Halifax (culture, services, industries, resources, etc.)? Is it growing or declining? Split the class into small discussion groups. Each group will record their responses/ideas in point form. Have the groups present their ideas to the class Once students have begun to think about cities as dynamic places, hand out supporting texts (articles) that provide deeper understandings of citys life cycles. Students will have in-class time to read their articles and to discuss them; teacher will circulate to aid in understanding. Once adequate discussion has taken place, bring the class back in and discuss the idea of growth strategies: what are they and what growth strategies could be used in Halifax? Where does Halifax t as a city in terms of growth/decline? Pertinent information, such as the hullabaloo around the Nova Center, could be included is this a sign of growth or decline? Introduce the eld trip. This section should act as a springboard for the work well be doing on the eld trip, should get the ball rolling. Conclusion What aspects of urbanization have allowed Halifax to ourish? (0.5 class) Provide a YouTube video that captures this concept and have students write a page answering the question; encourage them to include what theyve learned throughout the unit thus far. Remind students to keep these ideas in mind when going on our eld trip next day. Assessment Observational: Are the students participating in their discussion groups and displaying a rm understanding of concepts? Writing assignment: Were the students able to pull out the relevant information shown in the video? Adaptations Adaptations for students with ADHD Provide clear and chunked instruction for learners. For group work, be sure students have a list of concise, progressive questions. Be sure to include summaries of academic articles for students who may have difculty staying focussed on academic language.

Extensions

Have students research another city within Nova Scotia of their choosing and present it as if it were the capital city. Discuss how it has been urbanized. What are growth strategies that that city may use? The Effects of Urbanization (Preserving Beechville) (http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_zc2Djzg1I) F. Ujoh. Understanding Urban Sprawl in the Federal Capital City, Abuja: Towards Sustainable Urbanization in Nigeria. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning 3.5: 106-113. (http:// www.academicjournals.org/JGRP) Elvin Wyly. Contemporary Urbanization and Global CitySystems. Urban Studies 2010. (http://www.geog.ubc.ca/~ewyly/ u200/contemporary.pdf) Group questions sheet Supporting articles (see research section) with summaries for students with reading comprehension difculties

Research

Readings

Route Map
Route is approximately 2.5 km in length (students will walk along the waterfront, not along Lower Water St.). Estimated time, however, due to stopping, pausing, talking, and considering, will be 2-2.5 hours. Class time to round out the eld trip should take another hour. TOTAL: 3-3.5 hours

Field Trip
A Walk Around Halifax Seeing Geography Wherever We Go
Description: This eld trip aims to connect the theory weve approached thus far in the unit with each students particular and lived experience of a city. Each student will approach the eld trip with a mind to geographical features: some may choose, in small groups, to note every empty building they see; others may mark coffee shops, or furniture stores, or construction sites. Along the walk, teachers will point out signicant geographical features remember, geography includes both the lay of the land, buildings, sidewalks, houses Geography attempts to answer the question of why what is where. When we return to the classroom to unpack the eld trip, students will develop a collaborative map of the citys downtown core. Each of us experiences the city differently (this is grounded in spatial theory); each of us can pull relevant information from as little as a walk. Information is all around us, if only we know where and how! to look. Objectives: Students should come away from the trip with an understanding of urban growth and decline, how and why cities evolve, how Halifax is growing and changing as an urban centre, and a rm grasp on how to think geographically. Students will come away being able to pin-point geographical and cultural patterns in an urban centre, and should see their own city with new eyes. Outcomes: Global Geography 12, 7.1.1, 7.2.1, 7.2.2 Activities: After the initial introduction to and discussion of the eld trip, students will be divided into groups of two or three and given a map that outlines the route. They will be encouraged to make note of one type of feature on their map coffee shops, vintage clothes stores, construction sites, buildings that are more than 100 years old, etc. that they think they will be able to draw information from. Questions for inspiring the uninspired could include: What businesses and structures have closed? What new businesses have emerged? What can we guess about the population based on the stores in the downtown? What can we learn from the types of businesses we notices? Does the tenor of the area change when we walk through different areas? During the trip, we will discuss points of interest: important historical sites, areas that seem to be clustered around a certain type of amenity, etc. Students will be encouraged

throughout to stop, take time, and explore to consider what theyre seeing, what we can infer from it, and why its important. Once we have returned to the classroom, students will use the Smartboard to call up sites of interest to show how we are able to pull a variety of information from a walk, that we all notice different things. This will conclude in a collaborative map-making exercise. Discuss the idea of cities as dynamic, changing social entities constructed from a wide varieties of factors (historical monuments, buildings, services, tourist spots, natural sites, natural resources). Encourage students to think about: What are signs of decline? What are signs of growth? What can we tell about a city and its personality just by walking around?

Thinking Geographically:

Getting to Know Halifax Better

Think you know your city? Think again! Weve dealt with a lot of ideas this unit: resources, trade routes, urban growth and decline, push/pull factors, immigration and emigration, industry, and services. Basically, weve dealt learned a lot about what cities are and how they function. But learning about these ideas and understanding what they mean can be two very different things, so our eld trip will try and connect what weve talked about in class with your life. 1) Arrange yourselves into groups of twos or threes. 2) Think about something you might nd interesting in a city (coffee shops, empty storefronts, construction sites). This feature youre looking for should tell you something about a city. 3) At 12:30 tomorrow, meet Ms. Wheadon, Ms. Mawdsley, and Mr. Simmonds in Ms. Wheadons classroom (Rm 203). 4) Together, well walk to the Public Gardens and begin our trip. 5) As we walk, take note of that one thing your group chose mark any instances of it on your map, pausing and making observations and hypothesis along the way. 6) Well be stopping at several locations along the way for a quick class discussion about what were noticing, special features, etc. Feel free to stop any of your teachers to ask questions at any time, however! 7) Once we nish our walk, we will return to Ms. Wheadons classroom to talk about our discoveries and to map our own version of Halifax. Come prepared with hypotheses about the importance of what youve noted on your maps. Assessment Group identied a feature of signicance 1 point Group has successfully mapped a feature on the walking route 3 points Group has presented feature to the class 2 points Group came up with good conclusion based on evidence 3 points Group noted other features of importance (construction, historical sites; unrelated to chosen feature, but still geographically signicant) 1 point TOTAL: 10 points