What is it and what does it do? City Planning! What is it and what does it do? Before you start the lesson, ask the class what they think the little brown squares are (houses)! Also emphasize that everything is neat rows.

What is City Planning? City planning is a way of making cities easier and a better place to live. This is a typical city at night. Notice the traffic flow -- there are many cars that need to go in and out of the city! That’s why city planning is so important, because it will make everyone’s lives easier.

Cities are large areas where many people live Cities are large areas where many people live. These places often get very crowded, which is why city planning is helpful! Mention the nearest big city in your neighborhood! That way, the students can relate via memory, or they can visit the city themselves over the weekend with their family!

Ask your students what they would want in their city(like the one pictured) if they lived in one. Do they like playing in parks? What about taking walks outside? All these are good questions to get your students thinking about city planning.

Often, parks are made in cities for people to have fun and take a break. Mention that parks are important because people like being around nature! Ask them to think about their most recent experience in a park and ask some of them what they did.

Point out that the top is before city planning, and the bottom is after city planning. Ask them what they see is different in the two photos!

Point out that the houses are very close together Point out that the houses are very close together. Sometimes this approach is used when planning suburban cities, our cities outside of the big city. If your students live in a suburban neighborhood, you may want to mention that they live in one, or the nearest city to them that is suburban.