After PCDS 7th graders’ participation in the Future Cities Competition this winter, they saw an opportunity to partner with a local non profit to engage the local community in thinking about planning for Park City’s own future.

The Future Cities competition challenges students nationwide to consider planning for our future: transportation, waste management, water/land use, etc. Students are asked to design models of cities of the future with a potential solution to the challenge presented. As it happens, the mission of the Future Park City project similarly tries to engage the community in considering creative, sustainable plans for the future of our city, considering the unique challenges of our location.

During the final quarter of this school year students will study the proposal for redevelopment of one local neighborhood – Bonanza Park – and hear from a variety of stakeholders regarding their concerns and recommended priorities for development in a series of presentations over six weeks. With that input and their prior knowledge of city planning, students will devise a recommended course of action that they will present to the Park City Council and general public later this spring.

The purpose of Future Park City’s project with Park City Day School is to open public discourse promote collaboration, increase public engagement, and provide the community’s youth a voice in advancing productive dialogue around one of Park City’s most significant development projects in history.

This exercise in civic engagement benefits students as well as the community, according to PCDS Science teacher, Charlotte Friedman. “To let students know at such a young age that they can make a difference and they can be part of the process helps us to grow citizens that will continue to be involved.”