Experiencing the City

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Experiencing the City

• Greater Portland Landmarks
• Introduction to Urban Planning

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Experiencing the City

• Forward
• Greater Portland Landmarks (GPL) promotes
  preservation and revitalization
• historic building neighborhoods and landscapes
  and encourages high-quality
• new architecture to enhance the livability and
  economic vitality of Portland
• and the surrounding communities. The work of
  GPL began in 1961 after the
• unfortunate demolition of one of Portlands
  greatest historical markers, Union
• Station. In the strategic plan for the
  organization, education was identified
• as a high priority. Therefore, this unit on
  experiencing the city was
• developed to enable middle school students to
  learn about urban planning
• and experience the cities and town

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Experiencing the City

• Introduction
• Experiencing the City is an
  introduction to urban planning. Using the
  concepts and activities in this unit, teachers
  can take their students through a process
  involving evaluating and analyzing a city or
  neighborhood from multiple perspectives.
  Students will have the opportunity to learn how
  cities came to be, what infrastructures are
  needed to keep them running, and how cities
  respond to the needs of people and organizations
  that use them.
• Although many of the activities relate
  to Portland, there are lessons such as mapping
  your own neighborhood that apply to all towns.
  Lessons can be adapted for other cities such as
  Lewiston or Bangor. In addition, teachers and
  students can survey or research their own
  community to identify an issue or local need in
  which they may want to get involved.
• Links to resources can be found at the
  end of this presentation.

• We would appreciate hearing back from you about
  your experiences, successes and challenges.
• Please e-mail us at info_at_portlandlandmarks.o
  rg

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Experiencing the City

• Activities
• 1. What are the Physical Elements Which Make Up
  a City? ( brainstorming)
• 2. Introduction to the Issues and Vocabulary to
  Urban Planning
• 3. Illustrations of Urban Development (slide
  show of Portland)
• 4. Identifying Key Components of a Neighborhood
  (mapping)
• 5. Results of Urban Planning (walking tour)
• 6. Analysis of Neighborhood (old maps of
  Portland)
• 7. Primary Source Research (new maps of
  Portland)
• 8. Who is Responsible for Changes? ( Guest
  speakers)

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Experiencing the City

• ACTIVITY 1
• What are the Physical Elements Which Make
  up a City?
• Purpose To
  identify the basic building blocks that make up a
  city as well as identify the cultural elements
  which give a city its character
• Goal Students
  will come up with a list of physical and cultural
  elements of a city from which
  students will develop the vocabulary of urban
  planning
• Activity In
  groups or individually, students will develop
  lists of the physical and cultural elements of
  a city that they share with the class. A master
  list will be developed using urban planning
  vocabulary.
• ?Physical examples
  
  Transportation Roads, railroads, bridges,
  walkways, bike paths., buses. Buildings
  Hospitals, churches, schools, homes, town or city
  halls. Signage Road signs,
  store signs, directional signs.
  Open Spaces Parks,
  yards, waterfront, plazas, trails.
  Infrastructure Water, sewer, electric,
  gas, phones, cable.
  Neighborhoods
• ?Cultural Examples Climate, diversity of
  people, language, economy.
• After sharing information they have gathered
  information have then answer the following
  After developing your lists, what do you think
  urban planning is?
• The students original lists and class master
  list should be saved for activity 2.

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Experiencing the City

• Urban Planning Issues Examples
• Transportation Cars, Planes, trains, bicycles
• Open Space Gardens, parks, roadside plantings
• Preservation Homes in need of repair, real
  estate ads and banner headlines.
• Sprawl dense development, clear-cutting,
  development images.
• Zoning Inappropriate use of space, business in
  residential neighborhoods, chickens in
  residential yards.

• Activity 2
• Introduction to the Issues and Vocabulary of
  Urban Planning
• Purpose To reinforce urban planning vocabulary
  and issues.
• Goals Students will create a collage that draws
  from the information on their flip charts and
  master list from Activity 1.
• Activity Students will collect magazines,
  journals, and newspapers that contain images of
  urban planning vocabulary and issues. Using the
  lists from Activity 1, students will create
  collages illustrating the vocabulary.
• ?Hang the collages around the room so
  that they can serve as visual reminders of urban
  planning concepts and provide talking points
  for continuing discussion. Students may start to
  collect written articles on urban planning
  issues.

See vocabulary lists on next page
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Experiencing the City

• Vocabulary

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Experiencing the City

• Vocabulary

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Experiencing the City

• Vocabulary

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Experiencing the City

• Vocabulary

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Experiencing the City

• Vocabulary

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Experiencing the City

• Vocabulary

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Experiencing the City

• Activity 3
• Purpose To illustrate the urban planning
  vocabulary by viewing visual examples of
  Portlands development.
• To introduce the effects of urban planning in
  Portland.
• Goal Students will identify the effects of urban
  planning.
• Students will compare and contrast urban planning
  issues.
• Activity Students will view a slide show
  presented by the teacher or on their laptops and
  participate in discussions pertaining to
  individual slides. Slide show can be accessed on
  our website at

1914
Congress Street
2009
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Experiencing the City

• Activity 4
• Identifying Key Components of a Neighborhood
• Purpose To begin looking at neighborhoods and
  communities in terms of urban planning.
• Goal Students will identify key elements and
  cultural traits in their own neighborhoods.
• Students will complete a map of their school to
  be used as a template for their own neighborhood
  map that will include elements such as a road,
  buildings, infrastructure and transportation/parki
  ng.

• Activity
• ?Using city or county maps, students will locate
  their school and decide on the neighborhood
  boundaries.
• ?During a walking tour around their school,
  students will observe and create a list of the
  elements within their school community, such as
  buildings, streets, crosswalks and utilities.
• ?Back in the classroom students will share their
  lists. Using the school as the focus, students
  will create a map with a legend of their school
  community. Students will do the same activity at
  home in their neighborhood.
• ?Follow-up to this activity will be sharing of
  the neighborhood maps.

Continued
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Experiencing the City
Along with neighborhood and county maps
students can utilize the Osher Map Library at the
University of Southern Maine. The mission of the
Osher Map Library is to interpret its
collections-to make them intellectually
accessible-through K-12 outreach programs,
dedicated university courses and special classes
taught by its faculty scholar, public lectures
and conferences, online and printed publications,
and collaboration with scholars and teachers from
the University and around the globe. If you
wish to include Osher Map Librarys resources in
your curriculum please click on to the link
below
http//www.usm.maine.edu/maps/k-12-lesson-plans
Other Map Resources www.googleearth.com www.aaa.c
om
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Experiencing the City

• Activity 5
• Results of Urban Planning
• Purpose To reinforce what students have learned
  about urban planning.
• Goal Students and a teacher or Greater Portland
  Landmarks docent will identify the real results
  of urban planning.
• Activity Students and teachers will complete a
  walking tour through certain neighborhoods of
  Portland, starting at the corner of India and
  Commercial Streets on the water-side.
  Worksheets can be printed out from our website

• Walking Tour

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Experiencing the City

• Walking Tour
• Today, we will be taking a walk in Portland,
  looking at the real results of urban planning.
  As we stroll along, think about the elements we
  saw in the slide show that make a city welcoming,
  usable and friendly.
• You will be looking at
• ?Sidewalks and crosswalks
• ?Types of buildings such as commercial,
  residential and retail
• ?Examples of adaptive re-use
• ?Types of infrastructure
• ?Availability of amenities
• ?Parking solutions
• You will be given a worksheet that you will use
  throughout the tour to answer questions and
  sketch.

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Experiencing the City

• Activity 6
• Analysis of Neighborhood Maps
• Purpose Students will analyze maps of their own
  neighborhoods.
• Goal Students will compare and contrast key
  elements of their neighborhoods and also begin to
  look at their neighborhoods like urban planners
  would.
• Activity Students will display their
  neighborhood maps. They will be asked to look
  critically at each of their maps and discuss
  similarities and differences in their
  neighborhoods.
• Challenge them to identify what is missing. For
  example Do all neighborhoods have public parks?
  Is there adequate parking? What are the people
  like in each neighborhood?
• Ask students to think about use. Are there
  examples of public and private use within their
  neighborhood?
• Next, students will write an essay on the things
  that they feel work and dont work in their
  neighborhood in regards to urban planning issues.
  

Click on the following link for access to
Portland Neighborhood maps
www.portlandmaine.gov/neighborhoods3.pdf
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Experiencing the City
Activity 7 Primary Source Research
Questions Why is Portland located where it
is? Why did it become a city? What are some
differences you see between old and new maps?
Similarities? Do you think urban planning has
worked in Portland? What are some changes that
you think should occur in the future? Who is
responsible for the changes in urban
planning? See the next slide for resource
information and historical maps.
Purpose To review the concepts of primary source
and secondary source information, as well as
explore the results of urban planning over time.
Goal Students will discuss their answers to the
following questions about the city using primary
sources.
Activity Students will compare and contrast
information on urban changes by using both
historical and present day maps of Portland.
(Photographs and documents may also be used.)
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Experiencing the City
Portland 1828
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Experiencing the City
Portland 1690
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Experiencing the City

• Activity 7 Resources
• The links to the right represent added resources
  for students to access when completing Activity
  7.

• Osher Map Library www.usm.maine.edu/maps
• Google Earth www.googleearth.com
• Portland Maps www.portlandmaine.gov/neighborhoods
  3.pdf
• Map Memory Network www.mainememory.net

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Experiencing the City

• Activity 8
• Who is responsible for Changes?
• Purpose To introduce the people, the
  organizations and the institutions responsible
  for urban planning.
• Goal Students will meet with key individuals
  responsible for urban planning in the area. They
  will discuss urban planning issues and interview
  these key people.
• Activity Students will prepare questions
  pertaining to urban planning. Students will be
  responsible for creating a list of individuals
  who may be contacted to participate in a
  discussion with the class. Students will contact
  key individuals within their neighborhood, city
  or town to participate in these discussions.
  Participants will be asked to speak about their
  role in urban planning, followed by a question
  and answer session.

Examples include City Planner Mayor
Greater Portland Landmarks Preservation Officer
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Experiencing the City
Resources for Educators
LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS Cape Elizabeth Land Trust
http www.capelandtrust.org Greater Portland
Landmarks www.portlandlandmarks.org Greater
Portland Council of Government
www.gpcog.org/home/index.phpnts TRAILS
ORGANIZATIONS Falmouth Trails www.falmouthtrails.
org Portland Trails http www.trails.org Gorham
Trails www.gorham-me.org East Coast Greenway
www.greenway.org Eastern Trails Alliance
www.easterntrail.org ARCHITECTURAL
RESOURCES Center for Understanding the Built
Environment www.cubekc.org Center for
Architecture and Preservation at Greater Portland
Landmarks www.portlandlandmarks.org SMRT
www.smrtinc.com LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Maine
Olmsted Alliance www.maineolmsted.com URBAN
PLANNERS Maine State Planning Office
www.maine.gov/spo Portland Planning Office
www.portlandonline.com/bps American Planning
Association www.planning.org
CONTINUED
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Experiencing the City
Resources for Educators
TRANSPORTATION METRO Bus www.gpmetrobus.com Maine
Department of Transportation www.maine.gov/mdot
RIDESHARE www.erideshare.com/statecity/ME.htm BI
CYCLES Bicycle Coalition of Maine
www.bikemaine.org Bike The Coast of Maine
www.bikeinmaine.com Alliance for Transportation
Choice www.thebikeshop1.org/ATC.html CITY OF
PORTLAND http//www.portlandmaine.gov/departments
.htm (This link will provide contact information
for every department in the City of
Portland) NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS Munjoy
Hill Neighborhood Organizations
www.munjoyhill.org Friends of Deering Oaks
www.deeringoaks.org West End News
http//thewestendnews.blogspot.com Portland Maine
Neighborhood Associations www.livinginportland.or
g Bayside Neighborhood Association
www.baysideneighborhood.org North Deering
Neighborhood Association www.northdeering.org Bac
k Cove Neighborhood Association
www.livinginportland.org/backcove.htm Friends of
Riverton Trolley Park http//publicworks.portlan
dmaine.gov/rivertontrolleypark.asp Friends of
Evergreen Cemetery www.friendsofevergreen.org Fri
ends of West End Cemetery www.interment.net/colum
n/commentary/20000624/western.htm
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Experiencing the City
Resources for Educators
SERVICE LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS Learning in Deed
www.ecs.org/html/projectspartners/clc/CLCLearningI
nDeed.htm KIDS Consortium www.kidsconsortium.org
FOUNDATIONS AND FUNDING SOURCES The Dunn
Foundation www.dunnfoundation.org/resources/index
.html Project SEED www.projectseed.org Portland
Partnership www.greatschoolspartnership.org HIST
ORIC PRESERVATION National Trust for Historic
Preservation www.preservationnation.org Maine
Historical Society www.mainehistory.org Greater
Portland Landmarks www.portlandlandmarks.org Main
e Preservation www.mainepreservation.org PUBLIC
ART Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance
www.portlandarts.org Portland Museum of Art
www.portlandmuseum.org Maine College of Art
www.meca.edu Spiral Arts www.spiralarts.org EDUC
ATIONAL SUPPORT Portland Partnership
www.greatschoolspartnership.org Muskie School at
the University of Southern Maine
www.muskie.usm.maine.edu MAPS Delorme Maps
www.delorme.com Osher Map Library
www.usm.maine.edu/maps USGS Topographic Maps
www.topomaps.usgs.gov
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Experiencing the City

Credits PowerPoint
presentation created by Joan Bennert, Dianne
Manning and the staff at Greater Portland
Landmarks Graphics by Dianne Manning All
historical photographs courtesy of Maine Memory
Network