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Database Provider

Author

Vox

Grades

6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th

Subjects

Social Studies, Economics, Civics

Resource Type

  • Videos, 5 minutes, 33 seconds, CC, Subtitles

Regional Focus

North America, United States, USA - Northeast, New York, New York City

Format

YouTube Video

The Traffic Solution Most Cities Haven't Tried

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Synopsis
  • This video from Vox explains how congestion pricing, or charging motorists for using the road during high-traffic times, could solve multiple problems in New York City. 
  • Students will learn about how effective congestion pricing has been in London and how a similar model could help other big cities. 
Teaching Tips

Positives

  • This video does a good job of establishing the pros and cons of enacting congestion pricing in New York City while also showing why congestion pricing may be the most viable option for the city's growing traffic problem.
  • Pie charts, graphs, and maps help visual learners understand the information presented in the video.

Additional Prerequisites

  • This video begins with an advertisement.
  • The video does not address the positive environmental impact that congestion pricing might have on New York City.
  • Since this video was produced in 2019, New York City has developed a congestion pricing plan called the Central Business District Tolling Program.

Differentiation

  • Science classes could do their own research to locate data on air pollution produced by personal vehicles versus public transit.
  • Younger students could create a mind map showing all of the problems that emanate from traffic in New York City and then discuss which of the problems could be solved by having fewer vehicles on the road.
  • History, social studies, or government classes could research the successes, failures, and changing public opinion of London's 2003 congestion pricing system.
  • Other resources related to this topic include Car-Free Streets Are Amazing (And We Need More of Them)What Makes Walkable Cities?, and Mapping Air Pollution in Oakland, CA.
Scientist Notes
This resource is a 6-minute video that presents an overview of congestion pricing and the ways in which it can alleviate congestion and heavy traffic in cities. Since this video came out, New York City has implemented congestion pricing. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
  • College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
    • Dimension 2: Civics
      • D2.Civ.12.6-8 Assess specific rules and laws (both actual and proposed) as means of addressing public problems.
      • D2.Civ.13.6-8 Analyze the purposes, implementation, and consequences of public policies in multiple settings.
  • Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
    • Speaking & Listening (K-12)
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.2 Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.3 Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.
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