Celebrates 25 Years of Inspiring Middle-School Students to Imagine, Design and Build the Cities of the Future
Chicago — The State of Illinois Future City Competition® is proudly announces its competition winners from 25th anniversary event held on Jan. 7th at the University of Illinois Chicago Campus. This year’s Future City Competition® asked middle school students to address The Power of Public Spaces and challenged them to design innovative, multiuse public spaces that serve a city’s diverse population.
The winners are:
1st Prairie Junior High School–Alsip, Ill. Resurgence Point
2nd Franklin Middle School–Wheaton, Ill. M.O.T.O.R City
3rd St Paul of the Cross School–Park Ridge, Ill. Wonderwood
4th Wood Dale Junior High School–Wood Dale, Ill. Kraina Wiatru
5th St Clair Junior High School–St Clair, Mo. Vil Mon
Public spaces have the capacity to revitalize a city’s economy by introducing new businesses and bringing in new visitors. They can also help reduce crime, ease traffic congestion, improve pedestrian safety, promote healthy living, improve the environment, and enhance civic engagement. A recent study by the UN-Habitat’s Global Urban Observatories Unit found that cities that devoted about 50% of their space to public use tended to be more prosperous and have a higher quality of life.
Imagine what it would be like to walk down the main street of a city 100 years in the future. What would you hear, see, smell, and feel? How would the people who live in your future city describe it? What would make it futuristic and innovative?
Working in a team with an educator and STEM mentor, students present their vision of the future through a virtual city design (using SimCity™ software); a 1,500 word city essay; a scale model of their city (built with recycled materials); and in a short presentation to a panel of STEM professionals. Winners represent their regions at the Finals in Washington, DC in February.
To learn more about attending the completion or to become a sponsor, visit the website at http://futurecity.org/illinois-chicago.
Major funding for Future City comes from the Bechtel Corporation, Bentley Systems, Inc, and the Shell Oil Company. We are honored with regional funding from HNTB, Golden Square Marketing, Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, Omega, ASCE-Student Chapter, American Concrete Institute- Illinois, Associated Steel Erectors, ASHRAE-Illinois Chapter, EJM Engineering, Lin Engineering, Ltd., Patrick Engineering, SAME, Terra Consulting, and Wendy/Lamont Associates.
About DiscoverE
DiscoverE is leading a growing network of volunteers in the US and abroad is drawn from the DiscoverE coalition of more than 100 professional societies, major corporations and government agencies. Together we meet a vital need: introducing students, parents, and educators to engineering, engaging them in hands-on engineering experiences and making science and math relevant. For more information, visit www.discovere.org.
Future City® State of Illinois
The State of Illinois Future City Competition® is celebrating its 25rd year as a regional group in the national competition. The regional competition is comprised of teams, schools, and professionals from Illinois and nearby Missouri. In addition to the actual competition, Annual Chicago Engineers Benefit Dinner showcases the top local teams and award winners. For more information, visit our website here or go to http://futurecity.org/illinois-chicago.
For more information contact:
Future City® Regional Coordinator
Don Wittmer, P.E., HNTB
dwittmer@hntb.com
Future City® Regional Committee
Matthew Miller, P.E., HNTB
mamiller@hntb.com
Future City® Grant Manager, Communications and Media
Deborah J. Hodges, M.A. Golden Square
dhodges@goldensquare.biz
312 675-6080