On Saturday, Oct. 26, 14 New Lebanon Jr. High School students in the Futures Cities club toured the Rensselaer Rail Station and engaged in activities and informative talks from special guests. During the field trip, which was coordinated by the Capital District Future City® Competition, students learned from from experts in the transportation field how transportation systems work within the greater capital district area.
Specifically, students learned about:
- Advances in the Capital District’s bus system, bus plus, and car sharing from Ross Farrell, Senior Transportation Planner from the CDTA;
- The future of flight and airports from Steve Iachetta, Airport Planner at the Albany County Airport Authority;
- Advances in the personal vehicle, including intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and safety from Christina Doughney, PE, PTOE, Traffic Engineer at CHA; and
- Increasing pedestrian and bicycle accommodations and bike sharing form Lindsay Zefting Vera, Engineer/Planner at Alta Planning & Design.
Middle school student attendees represent 21 area schools and educational organizations that have signed up for the 2013-2014 Future City competition this year.
About the 2013-14 Future City® Competition
This year, the Capital District Future City® Competition will be held on January 11, 2014 at Proctors Theater. The theme is Tomorrow’s Transit: Design a Way to Move People In and Around Your City. Students will be asked to design solutions to transport people quickly, safely, and using the least amount of energy in their cities of the future. But with so many people on the move, there are bound to be safety problems, environmental impacts, and health impacts. Whatever the size and location each team’s future city, students will need to think creatively to keep people moving.
Last year, 20 local teams consisting of over 240 participants (200 students, 18 engineering mentors, and 25 teachers) competed in the Capital District Future City® Competition. Over $7,000 in cash and prizes was given away at the Capital District regional competition. The 2013 Capital District regional winner was the Academy of Holy Names, who won a trip to Washington D.C. to compete against 37 other regional winners from around the United States in the National Competition, where they got to meet President Obama!
During the Future City® Competition, students work as a team to design a virtual city using SimCity™ software. They research a city wide issue and write an essay with their findings and solutions. They build a tabletop scale model of their city using recycled materials costing no more than $100 and they write a brief narrative promoting their city. At the January 11, 2014 competition, they present their version of the future to a panel of judges at Regional Competitions.
