Sustainable Transportation Project
In Middle School Science or STEAM classes, students are asked to design improvements to their school zone that will make walking, biking or riding the bus a better experience. They incorporate school-themed artwork into their designs and paint their solutions.
PROGRAM
Design Your Neighborhood
CLASS TYPE
Science or STEAM
PARTNERS
| Metro Nashville Public Schools
| Chattanooga Design Studio
| Metro Nashville Public Schools | Chattanooga Design Studio
Sustainable Transportation Project
Reducing Carbon Emissions with Placemaking
Curriculum Summary
Students will explore the pros and cons of the types of transportation that students use to get to and from school. During the activity, they will measure speed, CO2 emissions, cost, and calories burned on their way to school. They will brainstorm ways to encourage healthy and sustainable transportation for their peers.
The students will create designs for their school campus that promote sustainable transportation, like walking, biking, and transit. Winning groups will have their designs actually implemented on campus, and students will help paint the permanent installation.
Outcomes
Students will learn the benefits and drawbacks of different types of transportation options on the environment. They will also learn about how safety is interconnected with sustainable transportation.
With the help of Civic Design Center volunteers, students will learn how to create traffic calming and placemaking designs, present their ideas to the class, and gain support. They will ultimately understand the physical impact they are making upon their school when they implement the final design. Therefore, feeling more confident that they can make a difference in their community.
SUCCESS
Watch the video that showcases what the sustainable transportation project looks like in action!
“The kids were super excited that they got an opportunity to create something that we would be putting in place on our campus. They enjoyed seeing their ideas put into action. It was awesome to see them engaged in real world change.”
—Robert Paxton, J.T. Moore Middle School STEAM Teacher
Feature School
2021-2022
Madison Middle School students wanted to implement traffic calming elements for pedestrians, so they designed a crosswalk with school extracurricular logos. They promoted more safety elements by creating clearly designated bus lanes using the diamonds and ram heads. One group got also very excited about making bikers feel like superheroes, so they added a cape to the traditional cyclist logo in traditional bike lanes.
