Download AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY CAESAR III PROJECT I. Rationale The

AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
PROJECT
CAESAR III
I. Rationale
The study of Urban Geography deals with several key concepts: the origin and
evolution of cities, the functional character of contemporary cities, built
environment and social space, and models of urban systems. It is in the latter
that this project deals with. Students will conceive their idea of a perfect urban
development, put their plan into practice, adjust it, readjust it, and evaluate its
success.
II. Instructional Objectives
Students will:
Determine the significant characteristics of the "place" of their city.
Describe a region in terms of culture, physical features, trade, industry.
List reasons why their city's structure complemented or detracted from its
effectiveness.
Understand that human actions modify the physical environment.
Analyze the spatial organization of people, places and environments on the
Earth's surface.
Describe the resemblance of their city to actual geographic urban models.
Gain an awareness of the characteristics, distribution, and movement of human
populations on Earth's surface.
Recognize the patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's
surface.
III. Materials and Equipment
Handouts: Caesar III Project Guide
Video Game: Caesar III, Sierra Entertainment, Inc., Tips and Basic Information
IV. Instructional Procedures
(Time Required: Four to Five Class Periods.)
Part One: Begin Playing
Day 1: All students will bring in their first draft of their city maps. Students
must sign in and sign out on their game CDs for every session. To begin, select
Start a New Career and follow the tutorial for the first two campaigns. The basics
of the game will be explained.
Day 2:
After you have
completed the first two
tutorials go to File and
select New Game. Go to
City Construction Kit
and select Londinium
(London, England).
Once you begin
working on your city,
go under Options,
Difficulty, and turn the
God’s Effects to Off. You
should begin designing
your city by providing
water, food, roads, and
plenty of space for
immigrants before building other structures. Be sure to familiarize yourself with
the different structures and buildings. Also, experiment with different designs
for your city blocks. Keep track of which designs produce the best results with
the highest degree of efficiency.
Save the game and exit approximately five minutes before the end of the
period. CDs must be returned to the teacher (the CDs are school property). To
save the game to your hard drive go to the C: Drive - Program Files - Impressions
Games – Caesar III, and look for the name you saved your city under (the file will
end in .sav) Your game’s name must be a combination of your name and your
partner’s (e.g. JoeShmo.sav). Click on the file and drag it onto your desktop.
Part Two: Advanced City Design
Day 3: All students will bring two copies of their final city maps (one for
individual use, and one for the teacher). This city plan must contain elements of
any THREE of the following urban models discussed in the course: Central Place
Theory, Concentric Zone Model, Sector Model, Multiple Nuclei Model, Urban
Realms Model, Latin American City, Southeast Asian City, and/or Sub-Saharan
African City. All major areas must be labeled, and each map must contain at
least a one-paragraph explanation of its design. The map must be detailed,
showing the location of your CBD (or microdistrict, or port zone, etc.), as well as
any hinterlands, manufacturing districts, or other important sections (your final
city may look vastly different from this and it will be imperative to explain
why). Students must be prepared to discuss the fundamentals of the game and
compare the simulation with the urban models discussed in human geography
as well as the real world.
After the maps have been handed in, students may begin implementing their
urban designs in Caesar III. Students must document the progress for their cities
during and after every session for an accurate and well-designed paper. Have
fun!!
Days 4-5: Final city design - you must complete all the requirements of the
project (see Section V - Assessment).
V. Assessment
Final Objective: To create a thriving city with a population of at least 2,000
citizens and 3,000 denarii in your vaults. To receive an “A” on this assignment,
you must successfully complete the previous requirements in addition to
submitting a thorough paper. You must keep track of your city’s progress each
day. The day’s date as well as important additions, problems, alterations, or
other key areas of your city must be documented as well. You must include the
vocabulary listed throughout the paper itself. All vocabulary terms must be
bold, underlined, and italicized when used in the paper. When you have reached
the final requirements for your city, you must create a new map displaying your
final city plan. Save your work and put it in the Social Studies folder on the
computer.
The essential elements of the paper:
1) Describe the city’s original design plan, referencing actual urban models.
2) Discuss the city's development. Include key events or alterations
3) Compare and contrast TWO aspects of the design of your initial city plan and
the final result. Explain why they are different (or why they are similar).
4) The final analysis. Was the city design successful? Why or why not?
One small suggestion: Remember this is an AP assignment. Write your paper
using appropriate geographic analysis. Below is a simple example of applying
geography to the game:
Clay Pit
Removing clay from the earth is a
primary economic activity. The clay
pit belongs to the extractive sector of
the city. This work is highly manual
and requires lower-class workers.
Pottery Workshop
Converting clay into pottery is a
secondary economic activity. The
pottery workshop is part of the city's
manufacturing sector. Laborers in
this workshop are part of the basic
sector of the city's economic base.
Market
Manufacturing clay into pottery
provides no flow of money without
selling it for profit. The market
distributes goods to the people, which
is a tertiary economic activity. The
market is part of the service, and
nonbasic sectors of the city.
VI. Vocabulary: These terms and concepts MUST be addressed in your
paper. Any term used in the paper must be bold, underlined, and italicized.
Terms in italics (below) are optional.
agglomeration (and deglomeration)
mercantile or manufacturing city
central business district (CBD)
microdistrict / port zone
cityscape
primate city
commercialization
site and situation
disamenity sector / periferico
squatter settlement / informal satellite
townships/barrios
economic activity (primary, secondary,
suburbanization / sprawl
tertiary)
edge city / suburban node / “mall”
urban elite
employment structure (basic/nonbasic urban function (of people and
sectors)
buildings)
entertainment / theocratic center
urban model (Concentric Zone, Latin
American, …)
functional specialization
gentrification / rehabilitation
hinterland (market area, suburb)
urban morphology
zone of transition / inner city
zoning