Making cities more sustainable
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can research, identify and give examples of some ways in which cities can become more sustainable.
Key learning points
- Most people now live in cities and by 2050, it is estimated more than two-thirds of the world will live in urban areas.
- People generally have better access to energy, jobs and food in urban areas but human activity also causes pollution.
- Cities can become more sustainable in their use of energy, transport, building and waste disposal.
- Tiny, dense ‘Miyawaki’ forests are part of a movement aimed at restoring biodiversity and fighting the climate crisis.
Keywords
City - A city is a settlement that is usually larger than a town and has local government.
Sustainable - If something is sustainable it is able to continue over a long time.
Sustainable Development Goals - The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 aims created for nations to adopt in order to work towards "peace and prosperity for people and the planet".
Common misconception
Believing that sustainability is only about the environment.
It relates to the social, economic and environmental impact of a city. This lesson focuses mainly on environmental issues but a city would not be judged to be sustainable if its citizens did not have their basic economic or social needs met.
Teacher tip
Task A could be conducted as fieldwork in the nearest city. Or a representative from your local city council could come into school to discuss sustainability measure and future plans.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Globally, biodiversity is .
Q2.Which of these are pollinators?
Q3.What has been found to improve biodiversity?
Q4.Why are pollinators important to biodiversity?
Q5. allows an area to restore itself to a natural state in which wildlife can return without human intervention.
Q6.Which of these would help rewilding?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keyword to the definition.
Q2.Where do most people live now?
Q3.Even though cities only cover 3% of the Earth’s land, they produce what percentage of global carbon emissions?
Q4.Which of the following is Copenhagen doing to improve sustainability?
Q5.Why do ‘Miyawaki’ forests and Tiny Forests improve a city's sustainability?
Q6.Sustainable cities should try to greenhouse gases produced by burning of fossil fuels for transport.
To help you plan your 5 geography lesson on: Making cities more sustainable, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 5 geography lesson on: Making cities more sustainable, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 geography lessons from the Sustainable world: does it matter how we live? unit, dive into the full primary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.