Planning a green city
In Egypt people have built with mud brick, which is made from soil and dried in the sun, for thousands of years. Making ordinary bricks and cement uses a lot of energy and creates pollution, so scientists are testing ways to treat soil so it hardens like brick without being fired. When a city grows, plants are removed and soil is covered. Rain then cannot soak in, so there are more floods and more erosion. When a city spreads over wetlands, plants and animals lose their homes, and the wetland can no longer filter water. People who live far from the centre may drive more, which adds air pollution. A green city plan keeps parks and wetlands, plants trees, uses clean energy and public transport, and recycles waste. A good plan names the problems and gives a fix for each.
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| plants removed, more floods | keep parks and plant trees |
| wetland covered | protect the wetland |
| too many cars | buses and walking paths |
Green city plan. With a grown-up, use paper or building blocks. Draw or build a simple city with labelled blocks: houses, school, park, road, market. Write three problems it could cause and three fixes. Show your plan and write one change a friend suggests. No maps, no real places.