full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Mara Mintzer: How kids can help design cities
Unscramble the Blue Letters
When kids dream up a space, they almost always include fun, play and mnevmeot in their designs. Now, this is not what adults prioritize. But research shwos that fun, play and movement are exactly what adults need to stay healthy, too.
(Laughter)
footnote
Who wouldn't enjoy a tree house containing a little lending library and comfortable beanbag chairs for reading? Or what about a pilbuc art dlsiapy that sapyrs paint onto a cvnaas each time you walk up the steps? In addition to fun and play, children value beauty in their designs. When tasked with designing dense alaboffdre housing, kids rejected the blocks of iniceadtl, beige cuoimomnnids so many developers favor, and instead, put bright colors on everything, from housing to play equipment. They placed flowers between biking and walking paths, and placed benches along the creek, so kids could hang out with their friends and enjoy the ttrluiaiqny of the water. Which ldeas me to nature. Children have a biological need to connect with nature, and this shows up in their designs. They want nature right in their backyards, not four blocks away. So they design communities that ioocarpntre wetar, fruit trees, flowers and animals into their common spaces on site. For better or worse, this is logical, because five-year-olds today are rarely allowed to walk four blocks to access a park by themselves. And nutrae in one's immediate eevrimnonnt benefits everyone, since it has been shown to have rviroetaste effects for all ages.
Open Cloze
When kids dream up a space, they almost always include fun, play and ________ in their designs. Now, this is not what adults prioritize. But research _____ that fun, play and movement are exactly what adults need to stay healthy, too.
(Laughter)
footnote
Who wouldn't enjoy a tree house containing a little lending library and comfortable beanbag chairs for reading? Or what about a ______ art _______ that ______ paint onto a ______ each time you walk up the steps? In addition to fun and play, children value beauty in their designs. When tasked with designing dense __________ housing, kids rejected the blocks of _________, beige ____________ so many developers favor, and instead, put bright colors on everything, from housing to play equipment. They placed flowers between biking and walking paths, and placed benches along the creek, so kids could hang out with their friends and enjoy the ___________ of the water. Which _____ me to nature. Children have a biological need to connect with nature, and this shows up in their designs. They want nature right in their backyards, not four blocks away. So they design communities that ___________ _____, fruit trees, flowers and animals into their common spaces on site. For better or worse, this is logical, because five-year-olds today are rarely allowed to walk four blocks to access a park by themselves. And ______ in one's immediate ___________ benefits everyone, since it has been shown to have ___________ effects for all ages.
Solution
- environment
- identical
- affordable
- shows
- leads
- restorative
- nature
- sprays
- tranquility
- public
- canvas
- movement
- incorporate
- water
- display
- condominiums
Original Text
When kids dream up a space, they almost always include fun, play and movement in their designs. Now, this is not what adults prioritize. But research shows that fun, play and movement are exactly what adults need to stay healthy, too.
(Laughter)
footnote
Who wouldn't enjoy a tree house containing a little lending library and comfortable beanbag chairs for reading? Or what about a public art display that sprays paint onto a canvas each time you walk up the steps? In addition to fun and play, children value beauty in their designs. When tasked with designing dense affordable housing, kids rejected the blocks of identical, beige condominiums so many developers favor, and instead, put bright colors on everything, from housing to play equipment. They placed flowers between biking and walking paths, and placed benches along the creek, so kids could hang out with their friends and enjoy the tranquility of the water. Which leads me to nature. Children have a biological need to connect with nature, and this shows up in their designs. They want nature right in their backyards, not four blocks away. So they design communities that incorporate water, fruit trees, flowers and animals into their common spaces on site. For better or worse, this is logical, because five-year-olds today are rarely allowed to walk four blocks to access a park by themselves. And nature in one's immediate environment benefits everyone, since it has been shown to have restorative effects for all ages.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
| collocation |
frequency |
| civic area |
4 |
| asked children |
3 |
| city council |
2 |
| city initiative |
2 |
| including children |
2 |
| city planning |
2 |
| young people |
2 |
| high school |
2 |
| school students |
2 |
| public art |
2 |
| city friendly |
2 |
| successful city |
2 |
ngrams of length 3
| collocation |
frequency |
| high school students |
2 |
Important Words
- access
- addition
- adults
- affordable
- ages
- allowed
- animals
- art
- backyards
- beanbag
- beauty
- beige
- benches
- benefits
- biking
- biological
- blocks
- bright
- canvas
- chairs
- children
- colors
- comfortable
- common
- communities
- condominiums
- connect
- creek
- dense
- design
- designing
- designs
- developers
- display
- dream
- effects
- enjoy
- environment
- equipment
- favor
- flowers
- footnote
- friends
- fruit
- fun
- hang
- healthy
- house
- housing
- identical
- include
- incorporate
- kids
- laughter
- leads
- lending
- library
- logical
- movement
- nature
- paint
- park
- paths
- play
- prioritize
- public
- put
- rarely
- reading
- rejected
- research
- restorative
- shown
- shows
- site
- space
- spaces
- sprays
- stay
- steps
- tasked
- time
- today
- tranquility
- tree
- trees
- walk
- walking
- water
- worse