Welsh Government



SUSTAINABLE CITIES – Teachers’ Notes

|WJEC Key Question |NGfL Cymru resources |Suggested activity |

| | |A global view of urbanisation is followed by an introduction to urban pressures around the world. |

| | | |

| | |The unit then focuses on three contrasting city locations |

| | |cities in China, |

| | |London especially 2012 Olympic legacy, |

| | |and Masdar, Abu Dhabi |

| | |to provide support material illustrating pressures and possible sustainable solutions. |

| | | |

| | |It is suggested that links are also made to the Sustainable Energy unit which provides Swedish urban support material and the Sustainable Water unit |

| | |which details future water strategy for Sydney, Australia. |

| | |It is hoped this linkage will encourage students to merge knowledge they have gained in different units and not see them as isolated entities. |

|4.1 How can cities throughout the |Urbanisation |A short UN video is supplied for students to watch which introduces some of the issues of this Unit. |

|world be classified? | | |

| |Size, rate of growth, |Three sets of data are provided |

| |level of development of|Population size of ‘largest’ 25 cities, 2010, and their % growth 2009-10 as a table |

| |cities |Population change 1800-2015 as bar graphs |

| | |Levels of development. Countries above and below the world GDP (PPP) per capita, $10,700. 2010 as a map. |

| | |Students are led through a series of questions to discuss a quote given from one of the sources. ‘This list is an estimate due to the difficulty in |

| | |defining some mega cities and accurately estimating some populations.' Daily Telegraph |

| | |Students use all the information to answer |

| | |Which classification: size, rate of growth, level of development do you consider to be the most effective? Why? What other criteria could be used to |

| | |classify cities? Further web links are given and students should realise size could also relate to aerial extent. |

|4.2 What pressures currently |Pressures confronting |A striking image and hot links to many different types of resources, interactive links, newspaper articles, trade magazines, photographs, unattributed |

|confront cities and how are they |cities |Wikimedia asks studentsd to identify pressures confronting cities around the world. they are also asked to evaluate the validity of different sources |

|changing them? | |of information. |

|Transport and communications | | |

|Disparities of wealth |Pressures confronting |An extensive set of information is available to print out [14 pages] which contains summary information from academic texts, maps, graphs, photographs,|

|areal extent |Chinese cities |tables, diagrams, web links, references. |

|Quality of environment | |The activity is encouraging the skill of making summary notes from extensive information. a series of post it notes help the student to formulate a |

| | |series of headings for their notes. |

| | | |

| | |‘Read the printed sheets. Use the information to make notes on Pressures confronting cities in China. Use the headings given on the ‘post its’. |

| | | |

| |The White Horse |This is a link to video (5 x 20 min programmes) and articles showing the redevelopment of a city in China due to the completion of the Three Gorges |

| | |Dam. A BBC team made 5 annual visits at the start of the millennium. |

| | | |

| |Changes to address the | |

| |pressures on China's |Resources including maps, web links, photographs, statistics give information on changes in |

| |cities |areal extent |

| | |transport and communications |

| | |wealth disparity |

| | |environment |

| | |in Chinese cities. |

| | |Students are asked: |

| | |‘Use these and other resources, including the video on White Horse Village and the printed sheets on pressures in Chinese cities, to research changes |

| | |resulting from pressures in China's cities. |

| |Pressures in London | |

| | |Do not forget to take into account the sources of information when you are forming your opinion.’ |

| | | |

| | |Resources from WJEC Feb 2011 pre release resource material are used here to illustrate how such available resources can be modified to illustrate |

| | |different issues. The material is available in print version from past papers, the Examination Board or its web site. |

| | |The graphs detailing the rate of growth of population and households are enhanced with a direct link to an interactive site which shows the population |

| | |growth location over a number of years. |

| | |Such pressures have an effect on energy, water and development as shown by tables, statements, maps and video. |

| | |Students are asked to use this data to ‘Describe the some of the future pressures on London.’ |

| | | |

| | |This example is included to enable students contrast the environmental pressures of building an ecocity in the desert |

| | | |

| |Pressures and changes, |Students are asked to ‘Use the article and video to describe the environmental pressures on building a city in the desert.’ |

| |Masdar, Abu Dhabi | |

| | | |

|4.3 What attempts have been made | | |

|to find sustainable solutions to |Dongtan, Shanghai, |This activity gives students an opportunity to plan their own sustainable city. |

|problems faced by cities? |China | |

|Strategies for | |Printable material is available on the growth of Shanghai with an outline of further expansion plans. An audio interview with a journalist from The |

|Transport and communications | |Economist gives opinions on some of the development ideas. Using an onscreen map of plans for a future city, the interview, and knowledge acquired from|

|Disparities of wealth | |Chinese Cities in section 4.2, students are asked to develop their own ideas for a sustainable city on this site. |

|areal extent | | |

|Quality of environment | |An opportunity is available to compare their own ideas with those submitted in China. |

| | | |

| | | |

| | |Links are given to The Mayor of London sustainability statement and The London Plan 2011. The sustainability document outlines aims, the Plan gives |

| |London |more detail on each of the sustainability issues. |

| | | |

| | |Further sets of resources, including maps and videos, are available at the base of the screen on |

| | |Water, Regeneration, Energy, Waste, Transport. |

| | |Students are asked to evaluate the strategies adopted for the sustainable development of London. |

| | | |

| | |This activity may be developed individually, or as groups of students who choose one of the headings and report back to the class, making their |

| | |analysis available for all the class. |

| | | |

| | |The London Olympics 2012 are called the Sustainable Olympic Games. The 2012 Olympics committee embedded sustainability in the development plans. |

| |The sustainable Olympic| |

| |games, London 2012 |Using a series of resources including: |

| | |interactive maps and photos; |

| | |printable map; |

| | |a constantly updated collage of photographs; |

| | |the sustainability claims for London 2012; |

| | |long term environmental claims; |

| | |long term transport effects on London; |

| | |other long term sustainability claims; |

| | |A poster showing Hackney's proposed legacy from 2012; |

| | |3 videos of some sceptics discussing the Olympic legacy in terms of regeneration. |

| | | |

| | |students are asked: |

| | |What is your opinion on the sustainability of the 2012 Olympics? |

| | | |

| |Masdar, Abu Dhabi | |

| | |Articles, architect’s plans, radio 4 iplayer link on Eco-City provide the resources for students to: |

| | | |

| | |Describe the plans for sustainable development of transport, food, water, energy, architecture, culture in Masdar. |

| | |Would the elements of this scheme be a suitable model for other parts of the world? |

| | | |

| |Essay plan | |

| | |Compare the plans for sustainability for: |

| | |Dongtan, Shanghai; |

| | |London, E London post 2012 Olympics; |

| | |Masdar, Abu Dhabi. |

| | |in terms of |

| | |Transport and communications |

| | |Disparities of wealth |

| | |areal extent |

| | |Quality of environment |

| | | |

| | |The activity is for a whiteboard table to be completed. A printed version is also available. |

|4.4 How sustainable |How sustainable are |The activity uses some powerpoint presentations created by WJEC A Geography students of differing ability. Students could be encouraged to comment on |

|are cities? |cities? |the standards of the work of peers. Links are given to the presentations and a series of activities are suggested. |

| | | |

| | |Using the given pieces of work as examples chose a city you have studied and make a powerpoint presentation answering the question 'How sustainable is |

| | |city X'. Presentations could be made to the rest of the class. |

| | | |

| | |Alternatively answer the question, Which of the given Chinese examples is the most sustainable city. Why? Comment on the standards achieved by the |

| | |different presentations. |

| | | |

| | |Cities take up less than 2% of the Earth's land surface, but use 75% of the resources we take from the Earth. In other words, they have large |

| | |ecological footprints. e.g. London’s footprint is 120 times the size of the city using imports from around the world. Can cities ever be sustainable? |

| | |Using illustration from the 3 proposals for sustainable cities in very different parts of the world, China, Abu Dhabi, London, assess the |

| | |sustainability of cities. |

| | | |

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