BY DESIGN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS 'BUILD' A BETTER CITY.Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer They're living every teenager's dream: spending millions of dollars building a fantasy world. About 100 students at Reseda, Cleveland and Kennedy high schools, along with Woodrow Wilson High School There are numerous Wilson High Schools in the United States, most named after the United States President Woodrow Wilson, including:
urban planning Programs pursued as a means of improving the urban environment and achieving certain social and economic objectives. . And while the $40 million budget and the urban community are imaginary, a $1,000 scholarship for the students with the best redevelopment plan is real. ``It's kind of like having a real job, with real deadlines, and we're actually doing it for something tangible,'' said Jessica Meskin, 16, of North Hollywood, who attends Kennedy High School. UrbanPlan is a joint project of the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. and ULI ULI Underwriters Laboratories Inc. ULI Urban Land Institute ULI Universitärer Lehrverbund Informatik ULI Universal Life Insurance ULI Ultra-Light Inflatable ULI University/Laboratory Initiative (Office of Naval Research) of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , part of the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit education and research institute that seeks to provide responsible leadership in the use of land. ULI Los Angeles is contributing $20,000 to the pilot program, which will expand districtwide next year. Organizers said the program is critical for students living in Los Angeles, the birthplace of urban sprawl. ``Our city has reached the point where we're basically built-out now, and as the city ages, it's really important for us to look inward for opportunities to redevelop re·de·vel·op v. re·de·vel·oped, re·de·vel·op·ing, re·de·vel·ops v.tr. 1. To develop (something) again. 2. our existing developments to provide new sources of housing and improve the infrastructure,'' said Tom Leahy, senior vice president of Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. and chairman of the Urban Plan Committee of ULI Los Angeles. ``We've got to rebuild from the core.'' Under the program, students are divided into five-member teams responsible for redeveloping a blighted 10-block area with an imaginary $40 million budget and a list of cost estimates for parking, buildings and other features. ULI Los Angeles will bring in planners and developers to speak to the students, who will create three-dimensional models of their projects and compete for $1,000 scholarships. Students will also complete redevelopment studies of neighborhoods near their communities. Last year, five girls from Kennedy High took first place in the agency's annual urban planning competition, each winning a $1,000 scholarship. In creating their prize-winning design, they had to preserve historical buildings, maintain homeless shelters Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people. Usually located in urban neighborhoods, they are similar to emergency shelters. The primary difference is that homeless shelters are usually open to anyone, without regard to the reason for need. and include commercial buildings while mixing the best elements of urban and suburban settings. It was a tough job, said Crystal Ramirez, 17, of Mission Hills, who suggested razing blighted apartment buildings near a church. ``I put myself in their position,'' Ramirez said. ``If I've just gotten married and I'm coming out of the church, I don't want to see those ugly apartment buildings. I'd rather see a park.'' Besides exposing students to career options, the interdisciplinary program teaches math skills, drafting, social science, public speaking and teamwork. ``I feel it is extremely important to have an education program that takes the academics and applies it to a real project,'' said Don Runyan, drafting, architecture and urban planning instructor at Cleveland High School. Kennedy High School, an architecture and digital arts magnet school magnet school n. A public school offering a specialized curriculum, often with high academic standards, to a student body representing a cross section of the community. , has been working with ULI for several years, mainly with its annual urban planning competition, said architecture teacher Aaron Kahlenberg. ``We have students who really have an interest in architecture and urban planning; they want to make a difference in the world. Most of them see so many negative things in the news - if they can shape the world not just into a better place, but a better-looking place at that, they feel they've done something positive.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Cassie Cuppari, left, Sharleen Rosales, Jessica Meskin, Stephanie Calles and Crystal Ramirez are Kennedy High School students whose urban design project won them first place in last year's UrbanPlan competition. (2) Aaron Kahlenberg, architecture teacher at Kennedy, conducts his architecture magnet class. Michael Owen
|
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion