Students will recommend a plan for locating a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in the greater metropolitan Lehigh Valley area to have minimal impact on the environment. Students will use Google Earth to analyze and evaluate features of different land areas for proposed development sites. They will apply “smart growth” principles to their planning decisions.
1. Begin class by asking students the following questions:
What is the mission of the LVPC?
What is Smart Growth?
How do new businesses get water and electricity?
How can we develop land for new businesses in responsible ways?
2. Distribute the Proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter Analysis
Form to each student. Display the Wal-Mart
sites.kml file in Google Earth and remind students how move from one site
location to the next by extending the Wal-Mart sites drop-down list and clicking
on a specific location name.
3. Instruct students to examine the 4 proposed locations for developing a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in the Google Earth with the Wal-Mart sites.kml file.
4. Instruct students to complete the Proposed Wal-Mart
Supercenter Analysis Form by responding to each item for all 4 proposed
locations. Tell students to be very specific for each response they place in
the chart.
Highlight the Helpful Hints in the handout.
Show students that they can turn on the roads layer in Google
Earth to view the existing transportation infrastructure.
Show students how to use the Ruler Tool 
in Google Earth to measure the distances of residential areas to the proposed
Wal-Mart locations.
5. After students have completed the Proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter Analysis Form, have them analyze their findings and make a recommendation for the best location to develop a new Wal-Mart Supercenter. Prompt students to write their recommendation for the best site that will have the minimal impact on the environment on the Proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter Analysis Form.
Materials Needed:
Handout: Where Should We Build The New Wal-Mart Supercenter? [Walmart_activity.pdf]
Handout: Proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter
Analysis Form [Walmart_analysis.pdf]
Google Earth file: Wal-Mart sites.kml
Assessment information:
Proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter Analysis
Form Assessment [Walmart_analysis_assess.pdf]
Proposal Statement Rubric [proposal_statement_rubric.pdf]
Proposal Presentation Rubric [proposal_present_rubric.pdf]
Instructional Sequence | Environmental Issues: Land Use Change
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