Sustainable Cities of the Future

Sustainable Cities of the Future is a lesson plan that helps children aged 3-7 learn what sustainable means and then build their own city of the future. It begins with a short London fact video about how cars, lorries and buses use a lot of fuel, which makes the air bad, and how riding bicycles more can help. Children then look at pictures of London, share their own stories, and talk about the buildings, transport and green spaces they can spot.

The big idea is simple: sustainability means protecting our natural environment and using resources without them running out in the future. Children think about how people live and move around a city, and what greener choices could look like. A presentation shows how a new, sustainable London might be built, and children talk about what they would include.

Then the fun begins. Children become town planners with clipboards, hats and jackets, and use the Design your own City worksheet. In pairs they build a 3D city at their tables, wearing hard hats while the teacher plays site manager, takes photographs and praises effort. A Sustainable City worksheet and a key vocabulary drawing task finish the lesson.

To start the conversation, ask: What is a city? Do you live in a city, a town or the countryside? What do people in a city have around them? Afterwards, you could take a walk near your setting and spot the transport, buildings and green spaces together.