Burhnam Plan Checkpoints

1

checkpoint Decide on a Proposal Topic and Purpose By the time you finish this checkpoint, you and your partner should determine:

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What is the issue?

Why is this a central issue to members of your community?

Checkpoint #1 Activities #1. Pick three issues you see affecting your community. #2. Discuss the effect of these issues on community members: Who is impacted? Who would benefit from the resolution of these issues? #3. Based on your brainstorming, decide which of the three issues is most meaningful to you. Then determine the solution you want to propose. #4. Conduct research to find useful information on urban improvement projects similar to your own. Can you find examples of similar projects in the United States? Around the globe? #5. As you think through these steps, record your thoughts and ideas in a blog post. Be sure to include:

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The issue that you want to pursue for your Digital City Planner project Who is impacted by this issue At least three examples of urban improvement projects related to the issue in the United States and around the globe.

What issues did the City of Chicago – and Daniel Burnham – face in 1909?

By 1850, Chicago was home to nearly 30,000 people. Just 20 years later, the population had increased to more than two million residents inhabiting 200 square miles – an average of 10,000 people per square mile! This rapid growth led to chaos, including severe congestion, intense pollution, hyper-industrialization, and an increase in violent crimes.

In 1909, Daniel Burnham outlined six areas of focus to address these issues and enhance the lives of Chicagoans:

• Improvement of the lakefront • Improvement of railway terminals • Acquisition of an outer park system • Creation of a series of highways outside the city • Systematic arrangement of streets and avenues within the city • Development of centers of intellectual life and civic administration, such as museums, libraries, and government buildings

2

checkpoint Determine the Call to Action By the time you finish this checkpoint, you and your partner should decide:

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How would you solve the problem you’ve identified?

What steps do you think community leaders should take to solve this problem?

Checkpoint #2 Activities #1. Consider the issue that you decided to focus on for your Digital City Planner project. Make a list of solutions that you and members of your community can achieve on your own. #2. Make a list of solutions that you believe would require active governmental or legislative support and that you would like your city/community officials to initiate. #3. Record these thoughts in a blog post:

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Create your own video, audio, or text entry that shares your thoughts about solutions to the issue.

#4. Do some virtual digging to explore how other communities in the United States and around the globe have taken responsibility for their improvement. #5. Find articles about communities in Chicago that have taken improvement into their own hands. #6. Record your thoughts and findings in a blog post:

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Share one of the articles that you found about Chicago.

Explain the key points of the article in your own words.

Create your own video, audio, or text response to the article.

What challenges did Daniel Burnham face in moving city officials and citizens toward action? How did he and his colleagues overcome them?

Not everyone was supportive of Daniel Burnham’s vision at first. While many immediately saw Burnham’s plan as a great response to issues facing the city, there were others, from working-class citizens to certain elected officials, who would need more encouragement and enlightenment to recognize the need for such drastic changes – and the spending they would require.

The Chicago Plan Commission, a select group of business and social leaders appointed to implement the Burnham Plan of Chicago, was tasked to find solutions to such challenges. The commission hired Walter L. Moody, General Manager of the Chicago Association of Commerce, to promote and build support for the plan. Moody used his experience as an award-winning salesman to counteract negative press with publicity campaigns that addressed a variety of audiences in multiple languages. Through his creativity, politicians and Chicagoans excitedly moved forward with the Plan.

3

checkpoint Conduct Research By the time you finish this checkpoint, you and your partner should decide:

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How does your proposal connect to an issue addressed by Daniel Burnham in 1909?

What interviews, photos, footage, or other documentation can be used to support your claim?

Checkpoint #3 Activities #1. What issues did residents of Chicago face at the turn of the 20th century? Collect images, articles, and excerpts from Carl Smith’s The Plan of Chicago that reflect your findings. #2. Which issues from the late 1800s are still affecting Chicagoans today? Do some virtual digging to find articles that support your claim. #3. Use your Nokia mobile device to do some reporting from the field. Document the issue you decided to focus on in your community by:

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Conducting mobile interviews Posting a photo essay on Ovi.com Texting tweets to 40404 Texting blog entries to 256447 or go@blogger.com

#4. Do some more virtual digging, this time to find statistics, reports, or published opinions that support your project proposal. #5. Record your thoughts and reflections about the research process in a blog post.

What research and background information did the Chicago Plan Commission use to support the Plan of Chicago?

Daniel Burnham and the members of the Chicago Plan Commission understood that their plan had to be grounded in research. They knew that they had to provide evidence of the issues they hoped to solve. But conducting research at the turn of the century was not the same experience as it is today. Because Chicago was growing and changing so rapidly, it was quite a challenge to capture a detailed and complete view of the city – especially without the digital tools we have today.

One tool they did have, however, was photography. The most compelling evidence they found was visual imagery. To support their call to action, the planning team relied on photographs showing the congestion, pollution, and poor waste removal in the commercial districts.

They also collected firsthand accounts, real estate records, and census and crime statistics to reinforce their effort to gain citywide support and improve the lives of Chicagoans through the plan.

checkpoint Determine Your Final Product

4

By the time you finish this checkpoint, you and your partner should decide:

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What forms of media will you use to deliver your message and generate interest in your cause?

How will the media you create represent your vision for positive change and urban development in your community?

Checkpoint #4 Activities #1. Get together with your partner for a brainstorming session: What forms of media do you enjoy producing, or what forms are you interested in learning more about? How do you think you can apply these forms of media to create an interesting and effective campaign? #2. Record your thoughts in a blog post:

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Create your own video, audio, or text entry that shares your thoughts about how you will use media to deliver your message.

#3. Do some virtual digging to find out more about the different types of media that the Chicago Plan Commission used to promote the Burnham Plan in the early 1900s. #4. How will you use your mobile device to capture and share various forms of media for your campaign? Share your thoughts in a mobile tweet. #5. Think about the images and footage that you will want to capture in high resolution or high definition for presentation to a wider audience. Check out a Flip camcorder or digital still camera from YOUmedia to enhance the media that you create for your project.

How did the Chicago Plan Commission promote the Plan of Chicago?

Similar to your own project, the Plan of Chicago was promoted with groundbreaking forms of media: the “latest” technology available in the early 20th century. The commission’s goal was to “cover the town” with a publicity campaign that featured lantern-slide talks in several languages. These predecessors of today’s presentation programs (like PowerPoint) were featured in churches, assembly halls, theaters, schools, and private homes. They included grand artist-renderings of the future city, diagrams of the grid system to ease traffic and congestion, and photos documenting the environmental stresses that the commission hoped to relieve.

In addition to organizing the lantern-slide talks, the planners – aided by Walter L. Moody – also printed booklets, pamphlets, and a student-friendly version of the plan with an accompanying teacher’s guide. Records show that the Plan Commission even produced a film!

Unfortunately, no copies of the film exist today.

checkpoint Produce Your Media Artifacts

5

By the time you finish this checkpoint, you and your partner should decide:

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How will you keep your project connected to the 1909 Plan of Chicago?

What details do you think will make the greatest impact in your final product?

Checkpoint #5 Activities #1. Now that you have your ideas, resources, footage, and forms of media, create an outline for your final presentation to help guide production. #2. Make a list of the interesting facts you’ve collected about Burnham’s Plan of Chicago. How has this information helped you to form your proposal? #3. Assemble and review any articles you found about urban renewal programs in other communities (local, national, or global). How did these stories inspire your own vision for the project? #4. Now that you’ve gathered your ideas, articles, and reflections, it’s time to combine your resources with the forms of media that you explored during Checkpoint #4. Create a series of media products that represent your proposal and your experience as a Digital City Planner. #5. Review your media products to make sure that:

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Your thoughts and message are clear.

You’ve pushed the limits of your creativity.

Your products are organized and well crafted.

Your messages are connected to the Plan of Chicago.

How was the Plan of Chicago prepared for the public?

Daniel Burnham and the Chicago Plan Commission understood that the initial presentation of the plan needed to expand beyond the limited number of printed copies originally available. So, while they were drafting sketches and visions for the city, collecting supporting evidence, talking to citizens, and building their own ideas, Burnham and his colleagues were also coming up with creative, innovative ways to share the plan with a wider audience.

Daniel Burnham and the Chicago Plan Commission used all of their creativity to share their vision of the city with the world. The Plan of Chicago was unveiled to the public on July 4, 1909, in full color. This vivid version of the plan was printed in local newspapers as well as displayed at The Art Institute of Chicago in a public exhibition, which eventually traveled to other major U.S. and European cities. While the technical portion of the Plan of Chicago was vital, it was only part of the plan’s overall presence in the community. The artwork, news coverage, public exhibitions, promotional talks, booklets, and pamphlets shared the Plan of Chicago with the masses.

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