Albuquerque's Environmental Story

Educating For a Sustainable Community

Eye Opener Activities 13

Areas of Concern

Collate the responses to top l0 Areas of Concern from Eye Opener Worksheet 13 selected by the class. Present this information in the format of an Opinionnaire.

Example: Questioned about the importance of the issue of Solid Waste Disposal in Albuquerque Ber-nallilo County, students in Class l07 responded as follows:

Major Concern ..................................................................................................14%
Of Growing Concern ..........................................................................................11%
Minor Concern ..................................................................................................47%
Not Applicable .................................................................................................. ---
No Opinion .......................................................................................................28%

Discuss your reactions to these findings. Offer this Opinionnaire to other classes, the mayor and to parents. Solicit their reactions.

How do the responses of the class, as presented in the Opinionnaire, compare with that of other classes or parent groups?
Which of the 10 Areas of Concern selected by the class for inclusion in the Opinionnaire showed the greatest agreement both within the class and in other student or adult groups reacting to the Opinionnaire? Explain.
Which of the topics showed the least agreement? Explain.
On what did students and adults base their assessments of the importance of the various topics? Some resources are newspaper reports, electronic media, personal experience, conversations, other sources of information.

Newspaper Environmental Survey

Keep a clipping file for two weeks of all local newspaper articles related to environmental issues, problems and concerns. Count them as votes for the significance of the various Areas of Concern in the Eye Opener Worksheet.

According to these articles, what are Albuquerque's major environmental concerns at this time? Discuss the results of this media tabulation in comparison with your class' assessment of the most important concerns.
Trace the development of one issue during the two weeks, and write a synthesizing summary at the end of the period.

Needs Assessment

Discuss possible methods for assessing the needs and problems of your community.

Make a list of your suggestions, which might include: 1) observations; 2) informal discussion with friends and relatives; 3) the print and electronic media; 4) formal interviews with elected and appointed officials, 5) members of the business community and civic leaders; 6) random sampling questionnaires formally distributed; and 7) analysis of city publications.
What factors should be considered in choosing a method of assessment?
Which method(s) would be most satisfactory for the class to use?
Write an essay on the quality of life in Albuquerque. What does this phrase mean? In your opinion, what is the quality of life in Albuquerque? In New Mexico? The Nation? How does the quality of life in our city at present compare with 50 years ago? Who could you ask?
What changes would have to be made to promote a better quality of life through land use?
Air quality?
Beautification?
Transportation?
Other environmental areas of concern?

Create a T-Shirt

Design a Why plan? T-shirt.

Use a computer draw program to plan your design.
Plan with your parent association to sell the shirts for a needy environmental cause.

Growth Management Plan

Divide into groups of four. Brainstorm the topics to be included in a Growth Management Plan for Albuquerque.

What are the similarities and differences among the list prepared by the various groups?
What topics must be considered in such a Plan?
What are the pros and cons of growth?
Who should develop a Growth Management Plan for our area? What should the citizens' role be?
How can such a plan be implemented and enforced?
Is it important to have such a plan? Why? Why not?

Propaganda Strategies

Discuss the importance for all citizens of critical thinking when evaluating a controversial community issue. In advocacy situations, speakers and writers frequently use propaganda techniques to sway public opinion or decision makers. Use the following list of twenty propaganda strategies to help analyze the statements related to a current local issue.

a. folksy appeal
b. bandwagon
c. testimonial
d. name calling
e. flag waving
f. prejudice
g. transfer (a non verbal association made between a belief and a famous person)
h. repetition
i. faulty analogy
j. irrelevancy
k. appeal to pity
l. flattery
m. ridicule
n. prestige/status symbol
o. half fact/card stacking
p. bargain appeal
q. practical consequences/personal welfare
r. passing from the acceptable to the dubious
s. glittering generality
t. emotional or descriptive language

Set up a role playing situation about a current and controversial environmental topic.

Assign roles and several of the above propaganda strategies to include in their statements.

Have the class identify the strategies each speaker used.

Local Participation Study

Conduct a study of citizen participation in local issues. Ask five people of voting age:

(a) if they voted in the last mayoral election/the last school board election;
(b) how many school board meetings they have attended;
(c) if they ever attended a City Council meeting or a Community Planning Board meeting;
(d) if they belong to local citizen's organizations such as block associations or home owners groups; and
(e) if they belong to larger public interest groups.

From this informal survey, does it appear that most people are involved in their local government?

Is local participation encouraged in your community?

Obtain information about voting in your community in the last mayoral election. Analyze the percentage of registered and non registered people of voting age; the percentage of those who voted; the statistical breakdown by age, sex, ethnicity, and political party of those who voted.

Why is citizen participation in community problems important?

Effective Citizen Workshops

Conduct a workshop on organizing for effective citizen participation in local environmental problems. Topics included in the workshop might include:

What should be considered in selecting an action project? (Scope of project, need, time frame, funding.).
What other groups might be called upon to participate in a project?
What should be the initial base in starting to organize a project? (Class, school, community group, a combination.)
What resources will be needed to launch a project?
Where might funding be obtained?
What outreach and promotional strategies can be used?
How can a Project Strategy schematic be prepared?
How can realistic outcomes be expected? How can they best be achieved?
Attend a city planning meeting and get actively involved.
Write letters to city officials on current city issues (new bridges, bear captures, mass transit, etc.). State your position and why.
Debate different current issues (open space debate, development against habitat preservation within the city limits). Role play as people with differing interests on the issues.

"The quality of environment is measured in terms of the texture of man-made development in natural terrain the pattern and quality of public buildings and space, the quality of design in the public sector, and the commitment to urban amenity and architectural quality in the private sector.

The automobile has left an imprint not uncommon to western cities. But the mountains, the volcanic cones, the vistas, the green cover of the valley, the arroyos and the pronounced horizon line have an impact on the City equal to that of the automobile. These visual qualities must be maintained.

Recent growth has begun to dispute the importance of ecological features; highways, retail centers, schools, and residential developments have dictated growth patterns. Citizens of Albuquerque have not been made aware of the shape of the future city that comes from large speculative land development. It is obvious that Albuquerque's assets may now be in serious jeopardy, but it is not too late to act. A renewed appreciation of the environment, combined with a commitment to preserve and protect is now necessary "

Quality in Environment by David A. Crane

An urban design study for the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 1970

(Up to Section V, Back to Eye Opener Worksheet 13, On to Appendix)