Comments on: Seventh Graders Picture a Safer, Livelier School Zone

By: Johan S

Johan S — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:45:04 +0000

Great success story for sharing with other classrooms! Really cool to see what students are capable of creating when we give them the opportunity. From what I’ve read on Sustainability education – encouraging future visioning is a critical component in effective and empowering ed – and you guys have pulled it off – in vivid colour! Thank you for sharing this and keep up the great work.

By: Erin

Erin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:52:08 +0000

Right. I love these drawings and their ideas, but the article does hint at the process by which these were made. There seem to have been groups called “bus lane group” and “bike lane group”; both bus lanes and bike lanes are used rather infrequently around the city (bike lanes have become more prevalent, yes). That alone steers the conversation and the end result in a certain direction. Nevertheless, these are some great ideas, and not just the bike/bus lanes. The street & sidewalk treatments are wonderful too. Fun pavements, places to sit, jovial street furnishings. I wish. In reality, it’s pretty hard to get the city to embrace anything that isn’t standard… although these kids may be in luck. Beautiful streets with slightly less non-standard design solutions are more likely to happen in the UWS than in South/Central/Outer Brooklyn, non-LIC Queens, the Bronx, S.I., etc…

By: Kenney

Kenney — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:34:10 +0000

Seventh graders led by Janette Sadik-Khan!

By: Eric McClure

Eric McClure — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:16:26 +0000

Is there any doubt that we’d be far better off if we replaced the Department of City Planning with 7th graders?