Box City
Summary
Using the Box City curriculum, participants construct buildings and cities out of boxes to learn about planning and land use or explore what they want for their town.
Tool Description
The 35-year-old Box City Curriculum is a project of the Center for Understanding the Built Environment (CUBE). The kit includes white cardboard boxes and curriculum materials, which are used to guide participants through the process of actually building a “box city.” The activity teaches participants about a range of planning and development related issues, from permits and zoning to architecture and design, conservation to affordable housing.
Originally designed for schools, Box City has since been adapted for use by adults and in many non-school settings, including planning meetings and public events. The activity can be run on a tabletop with only a few participants, or used to create a parking-lot sized box city with hundreds of participants. The original curriculum is also designed to primarily cover general planning and urban design issues, but curriculum available from CUBE can also help tailor it to local situations and other issues, including community character.
Summary of Costs
$0-99
Associated Costs
- Acquisition
- Facilitation
- Training
Strengths
- It is a very engaging and accessible way to introduce people to planning issues
- Box City works well for youth and can be a fun way to engage adults.
- No special technical expertise or high-tech equipment is required.
- The Box City curriculum is relatively inexpensive and can be reused frequently.
Limitations
- Running through a full Box City exercise with a group takes a significant amount of time.
- A full group exercise requires a large space and a number of materials (scissors, tape, rulers, glue).
Image Gallery
|
|
Submitted By:
admin
Last Updated: January 31, 2012, 4:41 pm
Post new comment