The Future City Philadelphia program is part of a national program to encourage middle-school students to design a city. This can be as simple as improving an existing neighborhood, or starting from scratch at the bottom of the ocean or on another planet. The kids are asked to envision and plan for all the systems needed to make their city work, including transportation, utilities, power, and water. They write a paper, build a model, and then present at a culmination event in January. It is a great introduction to the ideas of city planning and may well introduce some new students to the planning field. Several different ways to get involved are outlined in the request below from the program’s volunteer coordinator, Karen R. McManuels:
