Program Curriculum

The SiteSeeing curriculum is a map for an adventure. It offers young people the experience of looking at their neighborhoods with fresh eyes, to really see their physical environment for the first time. It is an in-depth process of envisioning what their neighborhoods could be, with the intent to improve the quality of life for both current and future residents. Through the SiteSeeing curriculum, students and community members develop the skills and interest to plan for and participate in the future of their neighborhoods, wherever they live.

The SiteSeeing curriculum is structured around three basic investigative themes:

What’s there (gathering)
What’s missing (analyzing)
What could be (envisioning)

These themes are broken down into investigatory topics of scale and location:

The neighborhood
Neighborhood as part of a larger city, suburb or town
Comparative neighborhood types

The educational goals of the SiteSeeing Program include:

Introduce participants to the vocabulary and concepts of community design to enable them to understand and articulate their ideas
Educate students about how their lifestyle decisions can affect planning and design concepts and processes
Empower students to take responsibility for their environment and participate in public decision making processes throughout their lives
Prepare students for future professions by teaching them the skills to think critically and connect ideas across disciplines
Expand students’ research skills through gathering of historical facts and information about the built and natural environment using primary sources
Develop students’ 2-D & 3-D visual and verbal communication skills
Strengthen links between the students, their neighborhood school or community center and the surrounding neighborhood