If you teach a kid to build a city ….

Here’s something I never thought I’d be passionate about when I was a kid: Zoning and Development ordinances. But then I started covering city and county government for local newspapers. It was then that I saw and understood the value of density, setbacks, mixed-use, etc.

When I worked for the Island Packet on Hilton Head Island, SC, my favorite government meeting to cover was the Planning Commission. The decisions that were made in those meetings had a direct impact on residents’ constitutional right to own property.

So imagine how excited I was this morning when I found out that Raleigh city officials are trying to teach children about urban planning. The city’s planning officials are hosting “Kids City Planning Day — Raleigh 2030″ on May 3 at Marbles Kids Museum, 201 E. Hargett St.

During the event, children will get to apply for a building permit, learn about geographic information systems, design and create buildings to populate their cityh and find out more about historic preservation, community planning and geography.

Hmmm. Maybe if I had such an opportunity at a young age I would be a city planner instead of a community content manager.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

Throughout the day, kids 10 and under will use recycled boxes, construction paper, string, tape, crayons, markers and other creative tools to construct their ideal city on a grid that winds through the museum’s first floor. The grid includes streets and other transit corridors, greenways and a zoned downtown, suburbs, small towns, and farm land. Over the course of the day, the city grows from a small 18^th century “planned” capital city to a 21^st century metro area that encompasses the outlying area. Mentors and planning experts help guide activities and the city’s growth throughout the day.

Upon entering the grid, participants check in at the Permitting station to get a permit to build in the city. Next door at the Geography station they learn about building options and what can be built where (Zoning). After matching their permit with a place in the grid, they are off to the Construction Zone where they will construct their buildings and place them in the grid.

A large screen will display Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and real time images of the growing city on the grid. Kids and adults can explore the role mapping plays in the planning process.