This video from TED is a talk from Liam Young, a director and architect who designed a science-fiction thought experiment for a sustainable future with one global city, named Planet City.
It depicts a future for humanity that takes up 0.02% of Earth, restores the natural world, progresses culture, and eliminates human-created separations like political affiliation and national boundaries.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The talk is accompanied by engaging visuals that help students better imagine Planet City.
Students will be challenged to rethink what is possible and what is sustainable for a growing population with limited resources.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should know the terms provocation and thought experiment.
Students should understand this isn't a prediction or even an aspiration, but an artwork meant to provoke thought and discussion.
Differentiation
Students who need support following along can use the transcript and read-along feature.
Students in ELA classes can analyze the author's purpose for this talk.
Students in science or engineering classes can create designs for Planet City and explain the environmental benefits of their designs.
Students in Art classes can create visuals for their own Planet City.
This 10-minute TED talk describes the science fiction thought experiment called 'Planet City,' a vision for what a future city might look like in which 10 billion humans live together in a sustainable community. The thought experiment is intended to be provocative and initiate discussion on how a city like this can be built and what it would mean to prioritize sustainability. This resource is a fun vision for a potential future that could be used to spark discussion. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
English Language Arts
Speaking and Listening (K-12)
SL.6-8.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
Visual and Performing Arts
Visual Arts: Standard C1 - Perceive and analyze artistic work.
D.C1.6-8prof.a Identify and interpret works of art or design that reveal how people live around the world and what they value.
D.C1.9-12prof.a Hypothesize ways in which art influences perception and understanding of human experiences.
D.C1.9-12acc.a Recognize and describe personal aesthetic and empathetic responses to the natural world and constructed environments.
D.C1.9-12acc.b Evaluate the effectiveness of an image to influence ideas, feelings, and behaviors of various audiences.
