Hoboken’s city fathers could take notes from the second and third graders of the Hoboken Charter School when it comes to urban planning. On Wednesday, the students of the public charter school presented their "model city" to the Hoboken community.
The 40-square block model, which the students titled the City of Wonder, is the culmination of a year-long project in which the students, who are between 7 and 9 years old, learned about the principles of urban planning including architecture, infrastructure, and construction in order to build their own ideal city.
Charter schools are public schools entirely funded by state and local taxpayer money.
The difference between charter schools and other public schools is that charter schools do not report to city’s Board of Education. The school has a Board of Trustees that handles questions about curriculum and administration.
"In school we have been studying Hoboken and other cities," said the second and third grade classes in a written press statement. "We made a model city which is balanced with the wants and needs of a community. In order to become urban planners, we read books, studied, went on trips, researched and listened to people from the community."
These wants and needs included city blocks containing firehouses, police stations, post offices, movie theaters, homeless shelters, churches, schools, grocery stores, power plants, sewage treatment plants, roads, pedestrian walkways, parks and even a city collage.
Once it was decided by the student what types of buildings the city needed, the classes then decided who would develop each project. Each student was responsible for one city block, and then as a class they decided where the buildings would go.
They created a city grid map where services were evenly distributed to connect all local businesses and residencies.
"Unlike Hoboken, we wanted to make sure that there isn’t a hair salon on every corner of our city," said second/third grade teacher Karen Lisa Shain Wednesday.
After architectural plans were finished, the students went before mock planning and zoning boards to get their "building permits."
In fact, the students established and had to conform to stringent zoning codes.
"In our plan, each inch equals one story," said student Tim Lenz. "If our building was too tall they [the Zoning Board] wouldn’t give us a permit."
Shain said that if the students’ plans didn’t meet the zoning codes, they would have to go back to the drawing board until they did conform to the decided-upon laws.
"We were denied more than one permit," said Shain.
Cardboard tubes
Once the students received their permits, they were ready to start construction complete with architectural and landscape details using found materials such as cardboard tubes, construction paper and wood scraps.
"Although it was difficult," said third grader Tyler Edgar, "we had fun and are satisfied with the results of our model."
Shain said that it is particularly important for students who live in an urban community to understand and be a part of the environment that they live in.
"We chose to study the local community because children are able to develop an understanding of Hoboken and surrounding cities based on their personal observations and experience," she said.
For example, the classes went on field trips to City Hall, met with local neighborhood groups, and even visited the North Hudson Sewerage Treatment Plant.
As third grader Alexa Yacker said, "We learned that you have to put factories, like your sewerage and power plants, away from where people live."
Yacker described the sewerage plant as being a "stinky" place that people shouldn’t have to live next to.
Shain added that a hands-on activity like the model city project is perfect for second and third graders who learn best by seeing and doing.
"The students participated in a variety of activities designed to help them learn real-life problem solving skills, strategies for effective communication, and techniques for self-management in social context," she said. "They considered the needs and wants of citizens, practical neighborhood layouts, scale and footprints of buildings, and visions of a place that would be peaceful, environmentally friendly and beautiful place to call home."
Another focus of building a model city was to plan a city that is environmentally sensitive.
"We want our community to know how important it is to take care of our city by keeping it clean and remembering to reduce, reuse and recycle," read the students’ mission statement. All of the buildings in the city were built from found scraps of materials that were from around students’ homes and the school.
"We want to preserve our city so it is ready for us and the next generation," said the statement.
According to Shain, one of the basic tenets of the Hoboken Charter School is to teach social responsibility.
"Here we believe in the principle of ‘children as activists,’ " said Shain. "We feel that it’s important that students get involved in their community."
When it was learned earlier this year that the building in which the school is located did not recycle, the students organized a recycling program.
Every year the school organizes a list of activities including a march down Washington Street for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Also, once a year, the students organize an "empty bowls" fundraiser for the local homeless shelter.
Showing their work
On Tuesday, the students displayed their work to some of the city’s most prominent developers and planning officials, including the city’s zoning officer and construction code official. Not only did the students give the developers and officers a tour of their city, but a developer stuck around to discuss with the students all that goes into the process.
"It was unbelievable how they came up with so many different ideas," said Frank Raia, who is building the new Shop-Rite on the city’s west side. Raia also sits on Board of Education. He added that it was especially impressive that the students could devise a zoning code, then design buildings and find innovative material to build them.
"They seem like they really had fun, and really got into what they were doing."
added Daniel Gans, a developer who owns the Hoboken Brownstone Company.
Gans said that the students’ ability to create a plan and stick to it bodes well for their future.
"When developing a project, you need to have a road map that lays out where you’re going," said Gans. "Once you have that plan, the most important thing is to make sure you pay attention to the small details, and these students have really done that, from start to finish."