THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 11, 1995 TAG: 9501100105
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
If Isle of Wight planner Bryan David had his way, he'd take a shopping mall topped with a futuristic hospital, a pristine beach with nothing more than a scenic highway running alongside, a residential community laid out in a grid pattern - and he would create ``a planner's Nirvana.''
David was grinning when he talked about his perfectly planned city. After all, nobody could really live there because he snatched the elements from model city-planning projects created by sixth- and seventh-graders at Smithfield Middle School.
But he was genuinely impressed.
``I was actually overwhelmed when I walked in here,'' David said recently as he stood among the little cities spreading across the floor of Sandra Councill's classroom for gifted and talented students. ``I've done this at a lot of other schools, but these were the best projects I've ever seen.''
The projects started the week before Thanksgiving with David's first visit to the classroom, Councill said. He patiently explained the planning process to the youngsters, told them what should and shouldn't be done from the standpoint of development, answered their questions.
``No,'' he remembered saying, ``you don't put a school right next to a shopping mall.''
And he told the youngsters that every good community must include space for residential, recreational, industrial, retail, farming, offices, institutions, libraries, museums, churches, recycling and landfills.
Councill said the students, who participate in the special class once a week, worked on the projects during four class periods, and David visited periodically to answer more questions and to check the progress of the building.
Nine miniature cities were completed.
``I wish I had taken photographs on a weekly basis,'' Councill said. ``It was wonderful to watch as the cities developed.''
The students were divided into teams, each responsible for developing and naming one city.
The mall of the future, topped by a hospital, was in Humphreysville, a city from the imagination of sixth- graders William Jarrell and Joshua Humphries.
Inspiration for the city started with an old castle, the young planners said. Within the castle, they located the library, museum and churches.
``All of the ambulances in the city are helicopters,'' Jarrell explained. ``Every building has a helicopter landing pad on top.''
Patients entering at ground level could be transported several stories aloft through a vacuum tube.
That city also featured a country club, sports arena and police station in the center of it all.
Humphreysville was awarded Best Use of Railroad Transportation by David for its hydro-powered rail network running throughout the streets and avenues.
David gave the other projects awards as well.
3-D-ville was designated Most Tourism-Oriented Community. Paradise was dubbed Most Pedestrian- and Bicyclist-Oriented Community.
Other awards went to Whoville for Most Strategically Located Retail Community; Boulder City for Best Use and Preservation of Topography; Richland Point for Best Use of the Planning Process - and the same city also was recognized for Best Use of the Grid Street Pattern and Open Space.
It was on Ocean Breeze Island, a city David said made good use of land space, that he found a trash barge.
``This is the best use I've seen of development density. You still kept your green space and open areas. And the trash barge is the most innovative solid-waste disposal method. But nobody could tell me where it goes.''
About Itoay, David said, ``You've used a lot of different forms of transportation. This is called intermodal transportation. You've used cars, helicopters, boats.'' Thus, Itoay received an award for its transportation use, as well as co-recognition for its planning process use.
Councill said David was a great teacher, paying attention to each child and every detail of the job. And, she said, the project probably helped to discover several future planners, students who seem to be naturals at planning cities.
As for the county planner himself, well, David says he got lots of ideas.
``If I could take each best element of each city and put them together, if I could take all of the best of each project, I would have the best place in the world to live and work and play.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Isle of Wight planner Bryan David talks with Smithfield Middle
School students about the nine miniature cities they created.
by CNB