Reading about urban planning by oneself can be dry. But definitely not the case when one can collaborate with peers to discuss and share ideas before diving into a book for more information.
At the Young Readers Club, we are all set to explore the world of urban planning. What does it take to plan a city or transform a village into a city? While we could directly dive into the book, we decided to see for ourselves what it would be like if we could let our imaginations run wild and start on a blank page first.
For some inspiration we read about how the location Chennai was very different in the 1800s. It certainly wasn't the buzzling city as we know it today. There were arbitrarily defined villages and nothing more. Things changed after the British decided to convert the coastline along the current city into a harbor. One thing led to another, trade was booming and necessitated the formation of a full fledged city for practical purposes over time.
What could be the differences between a village and a city?
The young readers dug into their own experiences as well as what they had read elsewhere and came up with a set of differences:
Easy access to water is not available. Some houses have wells.
Schools are less equipped and less in number.
Houses are built differently.
Villages don't have skyscrapers.
People are a lot more warm compared to the city.
Villages are smaller in size.
What you had a chance to contribute your ideas in transforming a village into a city, what would you like to see?
Working in teams helps the young readers learn to collaborate with one another, have meaningful conversations, listen and learn from one another. The group was divided into 4 teams and each team was assigned a portion of the village.
The task in hand: To make a list of essentials a city must have & a list that each young reader feels it is important to have in a city.
To be continued...