Teacher's Guide

Episode 2: "THE URBAN EXPLOSION" (25 minutes)

Overview

Every day of the year, tens of thousands of people move to the world's burgeoning cities in search of a better life.  Instead they find sprawling slums, massive traffic jams, chronic unemployment, regular failure of electrical and water services, strained educational and recreational facilities and skyrocketing fuel and food costs.  The uncontrolled development of the world's major cities has led to a series of problems: air pollution, water pollution, waste disposal, housing shortages and loss of farmland.

As the 21st century dawns, the question is how to balance economic growth with the health of the world's large metropolitan cities?  How do these cities shelter and sustain their residents without destroying the delicate balance of the environment?  The four mega-cities (cities with populations of over ten million people) profiled in "The Urban Explosion" are Mexico City, Shanghai, Istanbul and New York City.  Through the activities found at the end of this lesson, students will learn more about the problems facing the world's mega-cities, possible solutions to those problems and the need for urban planning.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

1. Describe the environmental problems (specifically air and water pollution) created by the rapid development of urban areas.
   
2. Identify some solutions for dealing with problems caused by uncontrolled urbanization.
   
3. Explain the importance of urban development plans in dealing with cities' environmental problems.

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Pre-Viewing Activities

1. Introduce the following key terms to students:

   Ecosystem — the community of plants and animals interacting with one another and the environment.

   Infrastructure — the foundation on which economic development is based, including the transportation, communication, electrical and water supply systems of a community, city, or nation.

   Mega-city — a city with a population in excess of ten million people.

   Pollution — the contamination of soil, water or the air by the discharge of harmful substances.

   Rapid transit system — mass transportation which enables people to move farther and faster through a city.

   Refugee — a person who flees usually to another country to escape oppression or persecution.

   Sewage — liquid and solid waste usually carried off in sewers or drains.

   Smog — fog that has become mixed and polluted with smoke.

   Sustainability — the ability to maintain or keep from collapsing.

   Toxic — poisonous, capable of causing injury or death, especially by chemical means.

   Urbanization — growth in the portion of a population living in areas of more than 2,500 people.

   Urban sprawl — the unplanned, uncontrolled spreading of urban development into areas adjoining the edge of a city.

   Water treatment plant — facility for the chemical treatment and recycling of water.

2. To familiarize students with the locations featured in the program, use a wall map, desk map or atlas and have students locate:
   • Mexico City
   • Istanbul
   • Shanghai
   • New York City
     
3. After students have located the cities, begin a discussion on what they already know about each of these places.  Ask them to talk about what kinds of environmental problems large cities like these might face.
   
4. Have students discuss examples of water or air pollution in their own community and what is being done to overcome these difficulties.
   
5. Have students discuss whether their community has a plan for expansion.
   
6. If students are in rural communities, discuss how they have been affected by the urban explosion — people leaving the farms; farm closings; young people leaving the community; store closings in their town.

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Post-Viewing Discussion

Mexico City

1. What are some of the environmental problems Mexico City is facing today?  (Answer: air pollution, water pollution, sinking land.)
   
2. What geographic features contribute to Mexico City's environmental problems?  What is meant by a closed ecosystem?  (Answer: little wind to cleanse the air and no ocean or major rivers to exchange water and sewage.) 
   
3. What causes the problem of smog in Mexico City?  (Answers: the combination of three million cars, 35,000 factories and its geography.)
   
4. How do you think Mexico City might solve these problems?  (Answers will vary — stricter emission standards, public transportation, etc.)
   
5. Do we face any of these same problems where we live?  What are we doing or what can be done to help?  (Answers will vary.)

Istanbul

1. What is causing Istanbul's water shortage problem?  (Answer: a rapid increase in population due to migration to the city.)
   
2. What is causing Istanbul's water pollution problem?  (Answer: a lack of sufficient waste water treatment facilities and excessive shipping traffic on the waterway going right through the middle of the city — the Bosporous Strait.)
   
3. How has the water pollution problem affected the fishing industry?  (Answer: The catch is meager.)
   
4. Do you know of any water pollution problems in your area?  What do you think should be done about them?  (Answers will vary.)

Shanghai

1. What was the cause of the smog in Shanghai?  (Answers: burning low-grade coal to warm homes and run factories; car emissions.)
   
2. How are they trying to solve this problem?  (Answers: limitations on ownership of cars and stricter air quality regulations for factories.)
   
3. What are they doing about the traffic problem?  (Answer: rebuilding the city's infrastructure, starting with a rapid transport system such as the subway system found in cities like New York.)
   
4. Would these same methods work in Mexico City?  Why or why not?  (Answers will vary.)
   
5. How about in your area?
   
6. How is the city of Shanghai dealing with its water pollution problems?  (Answers: A series of huge tunnels are being built to collect waste water which will then be treated and flushed out to sea.  A new water purification plant has been built for drinking water.)
   
7. Do you know where your local waste water treatment facility is located and how it operates?  (Answers will vary) Note: This may be a good field trip opportunity.

New York

1. How are the environmental issues for the people of New York City similar to those in Mexico City, Istanbul and Shanghai?  (Answer: The quality of their lives is controlled by their city's ability to cope with rapid change.)
   
2. What sets New York City apart from Mexico and Istanbul in terms of how they deal with their environmental problems?  (Answer: New York City has a vision, a plan for a unified system.) 
   
3. What is the importance of having a plan before starting any expansion or development?  (student discussion)

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Special Projects

1. Group Project: "Building a City": Have students draw or construct what they consider to be "the perfect city."  Plans should include methods for dealing with environmental issues, as well as a vision for sustainable growth and development of the city.
   
2. Group Project: "Improving Your City": Have students develop a plan to improve the city or town in which they live.  Have them highlight what changes they would make to the existing infrastructure.
   
3. To obtain an "Environmental Profile" of where you live, visit the Center for Environmental Information and Statistics (http://yosemite.epa.gov/ceis/ceis.nsf).
   
4. Have students invite a representative from their local water utility to speak to the class.  This could also be done as an individual interview.  Have students prepare questions such as: Where does our water come from?  Where is the waste from factories and plants released?  How is our local sewage treated, and where is it released?  To learn more about the effects of urbanization on water, have your students visit the U.S.  Geological Survey's Water Science for Schools site at http://www.ga.usgs.gov/edu/urbanquality.html.
   
5. Have students research the development of their community in terms of land use.  Have them look at questions such as how the land was first used and how it is used today.  Have them compare and contrast the benefits of development due to population growth.  Students can check with their local Chamber of Commerce, city government or Planning and Development Commission.
   
6. For students interested in conservation, help them get involved in a local conservation project.  These projects might include planting trees, cleaning up riverbeds or beaches.  To discover other project ideas, check out "Fun Activities" at the Environmental Protection Agency's Student Center (http://www.epa.gov/students/).
   
7. Throughout history, storytelling has been an important tool for learning about the past.  Have students write a myth or legend about population growth and its effects on the environment.  They may want to include such ideas as the uncontrolled growth of Earth's population and the effects on the land, the oceans and the skies.  Encourage them to be creative.