Why City Design Is Important (And Why I Hate Houston)
Videos
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Civics
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Not Just Bikes
What it is
- This video compares the infrastructure of car-centered cities in the United States to pedestrian and bike-friendly cities like those in the Netherlands.
- Students will learn about urban planning, urban sprawl, public transportation, and some of the factors and regulations that go into a city's design.
Teaching tips
Positives
- It shows footage from different cities around the world to help illustrate its points.
- It challenges the viewer to think about the design and the intention of the infrastructure for where they live.
Prerequisites
- There is an ad before the video.
- The content of the video ends at 16:28. The remaining time is an ad and credits.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Students can use information from the video to write letters to their local representatives to advocate for more bike lanes and pedestrian paths in their communities.
- The video is sectioned into chapters listed in the description.
- The description links to the references and related readings for students who want more context and data.
- Other resources related to these topics include Build Your Own Equitable City, Why I'm Living Without a Car, and What Makes Walkable Cities?
From the scientist review
This resource is a 17-minute video providing narratives for efficient urban planning. It presents a case study on transportation infrastructure in Houston and the Netherlands and attempts to highlight the importance of designing not just car-centric facilities but also a great focus on pedestrian infrastructure such as sidewalks, green space, parks etc. to reduce road accidents, air pollution, and to also achieve environmental sustainability. It concludes that the Netherlands' transport model is environmentally fit for replication. Thus, this resource is recommended for teaching.
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