How kids can help design cities- Mara Mintzer
691,367 Views
424 Questions Answered
Let’s Begin…
Adults tend to think of kids as "future citizens" -- their ideas and opinions will matter someday, just not today. But shouldn't they have a say in what the world they'll inherit will look like? Urban planner Mara Mintzer shares what happened when she and her team asked kids to help design a park in Boulder, Colorado.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
One of these projects is “Block by Block,” a program initiated by the UN in 2012 together with Microsoft and the developers of the computer game Minecraft.
As cities have soared higher and higher, some have ignored street-level life – an essential component for residents to build relationships to each other and their surroundings. By literally taking it down to a child’s level, people can increase the intensity of urban interconnectedness, and strengthen the fabric of a good quality of life.
Watch these recommended TED-Ed Lessons:
Urbanization and the evolution of cities across 10,000 years
About 10,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers, aided by rudimentary agriculture, moved to semi-permanent villages and never looked back. With further developments came food surpluses, leading to commerce, specialization and, many years later with the Industrial Revolution, the modern city. Vance Kite plots our urban past and how we can expect future cities to adapt to our growing populations.
How the world’s first metro system was built
It was the dawn of 1863, and London's not-yet-opened subway system — the first of its kind in the world — had the city in an uproar. Most people thought the project, which cost more than 100 million dollars in today's money, would never work. So how did they do it? Christian Wolmar explains how the London Underground was built at a time when no one had built a railway under a city before.
About TED-Ed Best of Web
TED-Ed Best of Web are exceptional, user-created lessons that are carefully selected by volunteer teachers and TED-Ed staff.
Meet The Creators
- Video created by TEDx Talks
- Lesson Plan created by Lauren McAlpine