21st Century Public Transit SystemsTHE MULTIPLE BENEFITS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN AN URBAN

METROPOLIS, URBAN-RURAL COMMUNITY

8th Grade Social Science-Geography 21st Century Public Transit Overview

21st century Public transit

Bicycle and pedestrian trailwasys

Buses, carpools, light

rail, ferries subway-

elevated trains, and trams

Reduces traffic congestion, reducing carbon emission, and

pollution

Environmental

sustainability, personal and

collective agency,

economic ,physical, and

socio-cultural benefits

In this unit we will explore the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural benefits of public transit in the 21st century.

Explore the challenges and misconceptions about public transit in urban and rural America.

Explore the infrastructure of public transit in America and several European countries

Create a model public transit system for transportation to school, work, shopping, and other leisure activities

21st Century Public Transit Introductory Exercises-Week IDemographic Grouping

Students will fill out an address form and questionnaire, listing if they walk to school, ride the school bus, parent drop-off, carpool, or ride public transportation, check if bus, trolley car, subway, or light rail to school.Student will be assigned to groups according to proximity of other students and their diverse mode of transportation.Ex: Group A lives in NW corridor of the city and utilizes the five modes of transportation.

Compiling and Data AssessmentEach group will review the questionnaire forms about modes of transportation, assess the information and create pie charts, graphs, and statistics about the modes of transportation being utilized

Internet ResearchEach group will conduct a brief internet research about 21st century public transit systems in urban communities.They have six choices: St. Louis, Mo. Philadelphia, PA., Dallas TX., and Los Angeles, Ca., Cambridgeshire, England, Zurich, SwitzerlandEach group will create a 5 minute media presentation detailing public transit systems according to the urban community they chose, also they will incorporate their data assessment into this presentation, list any questions they have or misconceptions that were confronted, addressed, or remains unresolved from their research

21st Century Public Transit Websites

I will provide three internet sources to assist you in your internet research, however you are not obligated to utilize these resources, you can decide as a group to utilize other internet sources.Internet Sources:http://www.streetfilms.org/category/transit/http://www.transitpeople.org/lesson/transit.htmhttp://www.uspirg.org/issues/usp/21st-century-transportation

21st Century Public Transit- Brainstorming Session: Facts, Perceptions, Misconceptions, and Questions Week II

What are the facts/misconceptions about public transportation?Is public transportation safe? Which perspective does the statistics supportWhat is the economic feasibility of public transportation, how does it benefit our personal and collective economies?What are the environmental consequences if the public infrastructure doesn’t support public transportation? What are the environmental benefits of public transportation?What are the socio-cultural benefits of public transportation?Group brainstorming session: First we will view several short film on public transportation, then follow up with a twenty-minute brainstorming session, student will access the internet, textbooks, and prior social studies notes to probe, analyze, and deconstruct misconceptions about public transportation in an urban and global community.

21st Century Brainstorming Session cont’d-Week II/III

http://www.streetfilms.org/lakewood-oh-the-suburb-where-everyone-can-walk-to-school/

http://www.streetfilms.org/william-holly-whyte-in-his-own-words-the-social-life-of-small-urban-spaces-1980/

http://www.streetfilms.org/category/transit/

http://www.publicpurpose.com/21stcent.htm

We will review approximately four short films on public transit in an urban- surburban communitiy in Lakeland, Ohio, New York City, Cambridgeshire, England, and Zurich Switzerland.We will also review an article entitled,21st Century Transportation: Expanding Mobility through Technology from the Urban Transport Fact Book This article and films will assist us in deconstructing the misconceptions about public transportation and developing strategies, concepts, and facts they will help us construct the infrastructure for a model public transit system

21st Century Public Transit Analysis Presentations-Week IV/V

Addressing Misconceptions Week IV-Each group will present a 10

minute presentation analyzing the misconceptions of public transportation. Short Q & A and discussion will follow each presentation, to gauge the group practical knowledge of the subject, and individual competence and contribution.

Group A-Public Safety Issues Group B Economic Feasibility and

Benefit Group C- Not environmentally friendly Group D-Lack of accessible

infrastructure

Plans, Strategies, & Solutions Week V-Each group will present a

10 minute presentation outlining their plans, strategies, and solutions for building a 21st century public transit system model.

Each group will choose from the public transportation models of metro transit systems, bike and pedestrian systems, carpooling, light rail, and a boat or ferry system.

Extra Credit Challenge: Group can also build or offer strategies for a futuristic public transit system- This will be worth 25-50 points

21st Century Public Transit Analysis Presentations/Public Transit Model Cont’d Week IV/V-XV

Week V-XV Public Transit Model Each week groups will be given one

class period to work on their public transit models- These sessions will foster and promote the skills of teamwork, collaboration, research analysis, group discussion, and strategic planning.

Week XII-Each group will conduct a mock presentation of their public transit model-this will allow time for final changes before the project is due

Grading Rubric & Peer Review A grading rubric will be assigned to

each upon their decision of which public transit model they will construct.

The Peer review panel will consist of 2-high school student volunteer from the local high school, the Social Studies teacher, myself, and 1-eighth grade student from Ms. Taylor’s class

Also I am scheduling several trips on the public transit system, a walking trip along the pedestrian walkway-trail, & other possible public transit systems to help with understanding the infrastructure of public transportation.

References

http://www.publicpurpose.com/21stcent.htm ; retrieved on 06/27/15

http://www.streetfilms.org/category/transit/ ; retrieved on 06/28/15

http://noimpactproject.org/educators-middle-high-school-environment-curriculum-html/transportation-lesson-plan/ ; retrieved on 06/28/15

http://www.transitpeople.org/lesson/transit.htmhttp://www.uspirg.org/issues/usp/21st-century-transportation ; retrieved on 6/28/15