Thursday August 30: The Perfect City – part one

In previous classes, we have examined – and debated -- whether people are more alike or more different. We have also explored how globalization – a process by which people are becoming more alike – might reduce the chances of war or make war more possible.

Now it’s time to begin looking beyond HOW people live and begin exploring WHERE people live, and WHY they chose to live there.

Even if there’s a McDonald’s in every city, and even if there are Facebook users in every corner of the globe, people still live in a PLACE. And all those places are unique. Those places have names; they are situated near various physical features such as rivers, mountains, oceans; they are also situated near other places.

Places are usually a part of some region or another. A region can be defined in many different ways: a common language, a dominant industry, a single government, even the broadcast range of a college radio station. A region can also be defined by how people spend their free time, or even the fan base of a sports team.

A PLACE FOR YOUR STUFF:

You will create a place – in your imagination -- that perfectly suits you. You must define this place by describing the following features of that place:

• Its name – get creative!
• Its physical features – is it mountainous or flat? Near a river? Near an ocean? In a desert? In a jungle?
• What is the climate like – hot? Cold? Rainy? Sunny? Windy? Calm?
• What languages are spoken?
• What kind of government does it have?
• Speaking of which, provide an example of five of its laws
• What is your city’s official motto?
• If someone wants to move to your city, do they need special permission? How would they get it?
• What kind of stuff does your city make?
• What do people wear?
• What kind of music is played there?
• For that matter, please  write down a few lines from your city’s official song
• What are the schools like – please use at least three complete sentences to describe them
• What do people do for fun? Please list at least eight examples

OK, that should be enough to get you started. And by all means, add in other details that you deem relevant

Cheers – Mr. L

PS - you may work together, but only if this would be an effective use of the time allotted