Smithsonian Institution
A Ticket to Philly—In 1769: Thinking about Cities, Then and Now
While cities had only a small fraction of the population in colonial America, they played a significant role in pre-revolutionary years, and this was certainly true for the largest city in the North American colonies: Philadelphia. Your...
Skyscraper Museum
Designing a Skyscraper
Besides serving as awe-inspiring monuments of human achievement, skyscrapers are built to perform a wide range of functions in urban communities. The second lesson in this series begins by exploring the history of the Empire State...
Curated OER
No More Traffic Jams: Lesson 3
Traffic is a very real concern for any Urban dweller. After watching a video showing various traffic issues and solutions, learners group up to discuss and develop innovative traffic solutions of their own. They explore vocabulary and...
Curated OER
Urban Ecosystems 4: Metabolism of Urban Ecosystems
Cities are compared to living, breathing, metabolizing organisms. Fourth in a five-part series of lessons, this one focuses on the flow of materials through a city. Links to interesting websites and images make your delivery of...
Curated OER
Urban Life: What Lives In Our Local Park?
Fifth graders participate in activities during a visit to Central Park. In this urban life lesson, 5th graders visit Central Park where they explore pond dipping, stream chemistry, and play a native plant Bingo game.
Curated OER
Designs for Urban Life
Students analyze the design of cities and systems as an architecture analysis. In this architecture analysis lesson plan, students complete image based discussion and two related activities for the lesson plan.
Curated OER
The City in Black and White and Color: An interdisciplinary approach to teaching life in the city using literature, social studies, art, and photography.
Young scholars design an artistic and literary collage of contemporary urban life that seeks to interpret, analyze, and evaluate its mettle. They integrate their impressions of urban life with established views, thereby enriching their...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Choosing Future Population
Essay on population growth past, present and future and the impact on society. Includes guiding questions for students and links to related resources.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Fordham University: Medieval Sourcebook: Charter for Town of St. Omer
Fordham University site presents the original text of a town charter granted by a local lord.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Fordham University: Medieval Sourcebook: Charter Granted to the Cambridge
This document presents the text of a charter granted to the citizens of Cambridge in 1201 by King John of England.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Ellen Dunham Jones: Retrofitting Suburbia
Ellen Dunham-Jones takes a look at how shopping has evolved over the past few decades and discusses what's to come of dying malls, dead "big box" stores, and empty parking lots. [19:24]
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Jacob Riis
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students solve a problem surrounding a historical question by reading primary source documents. This historical inquiry lesson allows students to investigate the photographs of 19th-century progressive...
Unite for Literacy
Unite for Literacy: Community: City of Surprises
Lean about all the things one can enjoy in a city. Includes audio narration in 10 additional languages with text in English.
National Geographic
National Geographic: Encyclopedic Entry: Urban
Learn the definition of an urban community and how it differs from a rural area.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: City Farm
Players learn about sustainable practices by growing crops, protecting them against unforeseen problems, and determining how best to conserve resources in this interactive game.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Fordham University: Medieval Sourcebook: Charter Granted to Men of Dunwich
This site from the Fordham University presents the full text of a town charter granted by England's King John.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Fordham University: Medieval Sourcebook: Charter of Lorris
This site from the Medieval Sourcebook of the the Fordham University presents the text of a charter granted by King Louis VII of France to the people of Lorris.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: New York: Tenement Museum
Site offers information and photos about tenements on New York's Lower East Side in the late 1800's. Be sure to click on the photos for information.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Urbanization
This site from the Wikipedia encyclopedia provides a great overview of the term urbanization. It is clearly written and has links to definitions that are unfamiliar to readers. A great starting place to learn about urbanization.
Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago: Art Access: Nighthawks
View Hopper's famous "Nighthawks," along with contextual details and analysis.
Other
Nyc Transportation Alternatives: Bicycle Blueprint
This site details "a plan to bring bicycling into the mainstream in New York City." Offers maps and detailed information on improving big city other-than-auto transportation choices.
NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: The Streets of New York
A slideshow of photographs of New York City from the period just before and just after World War II when the city was a magnet for talented photographers who were looking for new ways to capture the life of the city's streets. A...
PBS
Pbs Teachers: The Urban Explosion
Describe the environmental problems created by rapid development of urban areas, and identify solutions for dealing with problems caused by uncontrolled urbanization. Explain the importance of urban development plans for dealing with...
Read Works
Read Works: How City Residents Use Urban Farms
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about people living in urban areas who are finding room to grow gardens on empty lots. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.