Our Utopian City

Cyneford City

The city name is derived from the word “Cynefin” which is a place where a being feels it is ought to live. It is where the nature surrounding a person is right and welcoming.

Values

The values that our group included in the city are Religion, Education, Privacy, Health, and Sport.

Religion: We chose to represent Religion in a Place of Worship for the town. This Place of Worship is for all religions and faiths, and can be found in the top left corner of the town, next to the blue school building. Both my partner and I consider our religions to be a core part of our values, so we wanted to reflect this in our city.

Education: We represented education in a town school building that can be found to the right of the blue Place of Worship. This school is for every child in the town. We chose education as one of our values because it has a big impact on our future, and has a big influence on the people that we become.

Privacy: We represented this value in the gated communities that the city neighborhoods are organized into, and the protective white walls that surround them. This allows for quiet, private neighborhoods. The houses are purple, which is the colour of the purple chakra. This symbolizes peace and serenity.

Health: Health is represented as a Hospital Care Center that can be found directly across from the school. Health is important to our group because the better one’s health is, the longer they live and the better their quality of life will be.

Sport: The last value included in our town is sport. My partner and I both come from families that are very passionate about basketball, and we both enjoy playing volleyball during the summer. This value can be found in the multisport town arena that is located directly across from the Place of Worship. The town arena encourages physical activity and engagement in any sporting events, which directly helps the health and mental well being of the citizens in the town.

Communication Reflection

The purpose of this project was to digitally design a city containing components that reflect the core values of our group. Kirsten and I worked together, and we used a program called “City Creator” to create the design of our city. In the process of creating our city and designing the values that were connected to it, we worked together side by side in class so that we could share ideas efficiently. If we needed to communicate outside of school, we used Instagram to text each other. When brainstorming ideas and giving feedback, we always listened to the other person’s point of view and made sure to understand where they were coming from with their ideas. We were always respectful with our feedback and kept things positive and constructive! 

As the city was being created, we realized that the program that we had selected only let one computer work on the project, so my task was to build the city that we had designed. I was able to finish the city using the class time given, and this allowed me to get Kirsten’s ideas and support with the program. Kirsten’s task was to find a unique and meaningful name for the city, and she used her class time to do research to come up with a creative name that reflected both of our values.  

Our work as a group was very efficient, and we were able to sort out our ideas quickly and complete our work on time. We used our class time very well and didn’t have to do much group work at home. When making decisions in this project, we took each other’s views into account, and usually came up with an idea or answer that reflected both of our values. An example of this is the values modeled in our project. Each of the values that we chose is a shared value, and we both took turns suggesting values that were important to us to find common ground. The only problem that we faced was with the program that we were using, and we solved this problem by dividing the tasks up evenly so that we would both be doing an equal amount of work. 

Overall, I was very satisfied with the final product. We created a unique city that reflects our shared values, and we both worked well together. If I could improve this process for next time, I would use a software that allows multiple people to work on the same project simultaneously.  

What’s the Word Around Town?

My Map

Reflection

a. I effectively identified how the geography impacted the town relatively easily. I was able to find how the geography impacted these areas by using a variety of physical and online sources. These sources included an atlas, notes and handouts from my social studies class, and multiple websites on the internet including the City of Prince George website and the Government of BC website.

b. The technology personally affected my learning in many ways. To start, I used Word online to draft most of my project, which helped me to organize all of my work in one document. I also found it very helpful to have access to a variety of sources on the internet that helped me locate the information that I required quickly and efficiently. Some pros of using maphub.com are that the information that I enter into the site is stored in an organized way; when I create a map there are many options for me to personalize it and make it my own; and the site is very easy to navigate. One con of the site is that the locations aren’t exact unless you enter their coordinates, which can be a pain to do.

c. I was very satisfied with the result of my design. I had fun picking out colours, pictures and icons to personalize and organize my map, and I learned a lot about Prince George in the process.

d. In the future, I would plan out every aspect of my project before I start working on it to ensure that I go into the project with a clear idea of what I want to accomplish. For example, when I initially started working on the project, I was a bit rushed so I dove headfirst into the project without properly planning and thinking through my process.

Bibliography

Information 

https://medium.com/@annuwebphantoms/is-pinewood-good-for-furniture-their-pros-and-cons-b14b39e61253#:~:text=Stiffness%3A%20Pine%20is%20a%20very,it%20is%20lighter%20than%20oak.

http://www.hartskihill.com/

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/natural-resource-use/resource-roads

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/natural-resource-use/resource-roads/local-road-safety-information/prince-george-natural-resource-district-road-safety-information

https://www.ehcanadatravel.com/british-columbia/northern-bc/prince-george/parks-places/5230-forests-for-the-world.html#:~:text=Forests%20for%20the%20World%20in%20Prince%20George%2C%20British,thrive%20in%20the%20Fraser%20-%20Nechako%20Plateau%20region.

https://www.hunker.com/13429198/what-are-spruce-trees-used-for

https://www.princegeorge.ca/Things%20to%20Do/Pages/Learn%20about%20Prince%20George/HistoryofPrinceGeorge.aspx

https://www.pacificslope.ca/local-history-geography.html

https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/treebook/TreeBook.pdf

Pictures 

https://www.myprincegeorgenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/RS4983_IMG_9277-lpr.jpg

http://1u594u31nvw01cjgyx4gvsr15ge.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/10/iStock_000007532888Large.jpg

https://flowersbyhike.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/15dsc_0449lodgepole.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0cLBCVVTZIM/Up0s68hXueI/AAAAAAAAE0Q/qOXrlvzqvuo/s1600/White+Birch.JPG

https://northernlightswinery.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Northern-Lights-Estate-Winery-Our-Story-91.jpg

https://www.myprincegeorgenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1601161_631806706881464_345641138_n.jpg

https://m-t.co.za/sites/default/files/styles/colorbox_images__800_x_600_/public/The-Village-2.jpg?itok=cuzmTOss

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Lea_Rowing_Club-454.JPG/1920px-Lea_Rowing_Club-454.JPG

https://capturetheatlas.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Northern-Lights-Resort-Spa.jpg

About Me

My Bio

My name is Sameera, and I am a Grade 9 student at Centennial. Some words that could describe me are Creative, Passionate and Kind. Some strengths that I have are my work ethic, my literacy skills and my problem solving capabilities. However, some of my stretches are efficiency and time management! This brings me to what I would like to improve upon this year. I hope to increase my time management skills, as well as improve upon my ability to get work done quickly and efficiently while maintaining the same high quality of work that I try to achieve. Additionally, I am a District Leadership student so I hope to build upon my leadership abilities this year as well. I hope this paragraph has helped you get to know me!

My Favourite Website

https://www.climatehopeproject.ca/welcome

I chose Climate Hope Project as my favourite website because as someone who is passionate about the environment, I find this site not only helpful, but healing as well! There are many great articles on different topics related to the environment such as Intersectional Environmentalism and the concept of Circular Economy. The blog is a positive space that encourages healthy activism while keeping those who read it informed. Additionally, the blog contains firsthand interviews with environmental activists, members of the First Nations community and entrepreneurs.

My Favourite Video

I chose the video “The Science of Productivity” By ASAP Science. It is relevant to my goal of increased efficiency and time management because it gives helpful, straightforward advice on how to increase productivity while debunking some common myths surrounding it. I also like this video because it gives good reasoning and examples to support its advice. I found this video on YouTube.

My Favourite Image

This is a photo that I took while at Burnaby Lake. I love the beauty of the natural world, and this picture sums much of it up for me. The clear water, bright blue sky and lush green trees are a big part of the collection of things that make me happy!

My Favourite Quote

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Mahatma Gandhi

This quote is extremely important to me, because it represents a big part of my beliefs. I believe that if I want to see change, whether it be in my life or in the world, the change starts with me. I also believe in treating others the way that I want to be treated. Every action has an echo.

References