City Building
July 17-21, 2023 | 9 am-3 pm
Approximately 80% of Americans currently live in an urban area. But how did we transition from a predominantly rural, agricultural nation into an urbanized, industrial one? More specifically, how did the cities most of us live in become cities in the first place?
We will consider how cities “happen"—how and why they are founded and developed, and what makes them work … and sometimes not work. We focus on several of the world’s most famous cities, including San Francisco. We’ll venture out of the classroom on field trips to consider the various physical features that helped determine the evolution and character of our City, as well as visit with representatives of the San Francisco Planning Department to gain insights into the San Francisco of the future.
Throughout the week, we will synthesize what we’ve learned about urban planning by designing and building cities of our own using urban-planning software.
Cost: $425 Early Bird. $475 after April 21, 2023
Ages: Students entering 7th-9th grades in the fall of 2023
Lunch is included!
Instructor: John Zwolinski
John Zwolinski is a 34-year career teacher, and currently a faculty member at A.P. Giannini Middle School in San Francisco, where he has taught social studies for the past ten years. Previously, he taught test preparation, history, reading, ELA, and English as a Second Language in Micronesia, Korea, Los Angeles, and Oakland. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, graduated from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service with a BSFS in History & Diplomacy, and UC Berkeley’s School of Education with a Master's in Education. He has taught summer enrichment courses at SHCP for the past several years.