Changing Urban Systems, Grade 12 HL/SL, IBDP Geographic Themes (Options), Urban Environments

New York City Infrastructure Case Study

Below is the agenda I am using for my New York City infrastructure growth case study.  It contains a bunch of resources I have looked up online from various websites.  It corresponds to a syllabus point from the Urban Environments chapter from the IBDP Geography syllabus which reads:

Urban system growth including infrastructure improvements over time, such as transport, sanitation, water, waste disposal and telecommunications

Case study of infrastructure growth over time in one city

The picture used in the agenda and below is a mindmap of ideas created by my current grade 12 students about what they would expect to learn about NYC in this case study.

 

New York Infrastructure Case Study (Urban Environments)

 

Building Sustainable Urban Systems for the Future, Changing Urban Systems, Geography, IBDP Geographic Perspectives (Core), IBDP Geographic Themes (Options), The Variety of Urban Environments, Urban Environmental and Social Stresses, Urban Environments

Gentrification in Rotterdam – Mijn Stad Is Mijn Hart – VPRO

My good friend and fellow geographer Arnoud Kamp recommended this (in Dutch) mini-documentary to me.  At only 45 minutes long, it goes into the diversity, personality, and future of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.  If you know anything about Rotterdam and the transformation it is undergoing, you will know about the rapid gentrification that is taking over.  This documentary analyses the practical consequences of the drivers of this change.  One of the more apt and realistic presentations of the damages of gentrification and so called ‘urban renewal’.

 

https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/tegenlicht/kijk/afleveringen/2018-2019/mijn-stad-is-mijn-hart.html

 

THIS IS A MUST WATCH FOR DUTCH SPEAKERS INTERESTED IN GEOGRAPHY AND CITIES

Building Sustainable Urban Systems for the Future, Challenges and Opportunities, Changing Population, Changing Population and Places, Changing Urban Systems, Global Resource Consumption and Security, Global Trends in Consumption, Grade 11 HL/SL, IBDP Geographic Perspectives (Core), IBDP Geographic Themes (Options), Resource Stewardship, The Variety of Urban Environments, Urban Environmental and Social Stresses, Urban Environments

Unequal Scenes – Johnny Miller – Student Recommendation

A special thanks and shout out to an old student (Sasha v.h.) who sent me this incredible link.  With relevance to disparities, urban environments, migration, and so much more, these images captured by drones show the distinct spatial differences between ‘rich and poor’, ‘developed and developing’, or maybe even ‘us and them’.  An example of such an image taken from the website can be found below.

To all of my students past (and present too, of course), please send me any cool stuff you encounter both online or in your university courses.  Would love to hear from you and use what you find in my classes!

Click the link to check out the powerful images:

https://unequalscenes.com/ 

Photograph: Johnny Miller

Building Sustainable Urban Systems for the Future, Changing Population and Places, Changing Urban Systems, IBDP Geographic Themes (Options), The Variety of Urban Environments, Urban Environmental and Social Stresses, Urban Environments

Urban Environments Sustainability Game – ElectroCity

ElectroCity is a game developed by Genesis Energy where you can build and maintain the growth of a city in a multitude different ways.  It teaches students about sustainable urban growth and energy consumption, in an intriguing and memorable way.

ElectroCity link: http://www.electrocity.co.nz/ 

Geography, Geophysical Hazards, Global Risks and Resilience, Grade 12 HL, Grade 12 HL/SL, Human Development and Diversity, IBDP Geographic Themes (Options), IBDP Geographic/Global Interactions (HL Extension), Power, Places and Networks, Urban Environments

Padlet Revision Activity – Urban Environments and Global Interactions Revision Questions

Last year, my grade 12s really enjoyed this activity for their revision and it ended up being quite straight forward to run.  If you don’t have one, make an account at www.padlet.com.  As a teacher, on a Smartboard, projector, Prowise; whatever you use, you can copy and paste one of the questions into a padlet.  Share the link to your padlet with your students, who can then via any device access it and respond to the question.  I did it in groups, so in teams of 3 students could come up with their answer.  Then, as a class, when all groups had answered, we looked at the responses on the big screen to analyse who did the best and compare/contrast responses.

Padlet:  www.padlet.com

Hazards and Disasters Revision Questions: Hazards and Disasters Questions

Urban Environments Revision Questions: Urban Environments Questions

Global Interactions Revision Questions: Global Interactions Questions

Mind you, these questions were based on the old syllabus, but there are still many relevant and useful questions that have ties to the new syllabus.   Also, some questions are quite specific to what I taught in class, so be aware that they will be of no used to you.

 

 

 

Building Sustainable Urban Systems for the Future, Changing Urban Systems, Grade 11 HL/SL, IBDP Geographic Themes (Options), The Variety of Urban Environments, Urban Environmental and Social Stresses, Urban Environments

The Settlement Game – TES Resources

The link below is to a good activity/game with regards to Urban Environments and Land Use.  I have used it previously with IGCSE students, but it could definitely be adapted for IBDP students.  I would recommend doing it at least over two periods; when I did it with my IGCSE students, it took around 2 hours before we could begin to wrap things up.

 

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/settlement-game-6446289 

 

 

Building Sustainable Urban Systems for the Future, Geography, IBDP Geographic Themes (Options), Urban Environmental and Social Stresses, Urban Environments

Vienna Sustainability – The Kabelwerk Social Housing District

The link below is to a feature run by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development on Social Housing in Vienna.  This is in many ways linked to the social deprivation area of the syllabus, as well as a more eco-city designed detailed example.

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_featd_article_011314.html

The link below leads to a download of photographs I have taken of this social housing district of Vienna in the spring of 2018.  I have annotated them in order to display features of thoughtful urban planning.

Kabelwerk Photographs

 

 

 

 

 

IBDP Geographic Themes (Options), Internal Assessment, Urban Environments

Urban Environments IA Idea

Click the link below to access the general outline of an IA I did two years ago with my grade 12 (IBDP 2) class.  It was geared towards the old syllabus, though it still can work well with the new one.  Use it for an idea if you are thinking about designing a new Urban Environments IA!

Geography Internal Assessment Design

Grade 12 HL/SL, IBDP Geographic Themes (Options), Urban Environmental and Social Stresses, Urban Environments

Beijing Case Study (Air Pollution) – Ohio State Publishing

A short and sweet case study about the causes and consequences of air pollution in Beijing, China.  Published by Ohio State.

 

https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/sciencebites/chapter/causes-and-consequences-of-air-pollution-in-beijing-china/