This summer the LA APA Education Committee held a one week day camp program to teach kids about planning. Summer in the City: Planning in New Orleans '93, held June 7-11, 1993, was supported in part by an APA Chapter Presidents Council grant and also includes the development of a high school planning curriculum. The goals of the program were to give Junior City Planners a general overview of planning and to sensitize students to be more aware of their community. The approach was to combine presentations, hands-on activities and field trips. Community experts were used to provide the general framework of information about planning and the community of New Orleans.

Attending the summer camp were ten New Orleans area junior and senior high school students. These Junior City Planners learned about land uses and how long-range land use plans are developed by actually preparing a plan for a brand new city. They learned what a zoning ordinance is and how it is used, how a planning commission works, and attended a public hearing which included three zoning dockets. Students also visited the mayor's office and discussed the relationship between the mayor's office and the planning commission.

The Junior City Planners reviewed previous long-range plans for the City of New Orleans and learned that cities change, and that planning must change with the cities.

A trip to Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge and the city's Recovery I landfill helped them understand that long-range plans may not always be realized. They understood from studying the city's old master plan that this area of the city had been planned for residential development. Instead of residences, they saw a refuge area being preserved in its natural state.

The Junior City Planners were also able to discuss alternatives for waste disposal reduction methods due to the close proximity of the Recovery I landfill to the wildlife refuge.

They also learned how tourism is playing a greater role in New Orleans' planning and discussed whether this was good or bad. They had an opportunity to discuss New Orleans' rich cultural heritage when Big Chief Larry Bannock of the Golden Star Hunters spoke to the class about the traditions of the Mardi Gras Indians and how these traditions had evolved.

These young planners studied the historical development of New Orleans, its architecture, and housing programs. They toured the Warehouse District and French Quarter residential area to learn about historic preservation and life in the Quarter.

They were given a neighborhood planning exercise to help them understand the concept of cities as being comprised of neighborhoods. This activity had them research their parents' neighborhoods to discover the types of land uses that existed and to examine what their parents did for recreation when they were growing-up.

WIth all this planning knowledge, as a culminating activity the Junior City Planners built their own perfect city using SimCity software. As the first annual planning camp graduates, they received LA Chapter APA/CUPA diplomas. The success of the program was achieved by enthusiastic students, committed community experts and supportive program co-sponsors.