The Transportation Crisis in New York City 

Michael Lynch

mlynch18@schools.nyc.gov

P.S. 84Q

 

 

INTRODUCTION

You are a member of the analysis team for the DOT (Department of Transportation).  There is currently a transportation crisis in NYC due to a lack of resources, effective infrastructure, and congestion.  People are becoming increasingly frustrated with the difficulties of commuting through all of the five boroughs.  You and your group will work to address these issues.  

 

TASKS

Your group will create a presentation with Google Slides using the PPA in which you will detail the transportation crisis by providing examples and reasons.  You will also develop a plan to address the crisis and propose solutions.    

 

 

PROCESS

·         Students will work in groups of either 4 or 5. Students can either work together on each step of the PPA or each student can work on an individual component of the PPA.

·         Students will work on the Mac computers in the computer lab to research and create their presentations.

·         Students can use the resources listed below in addition to any other relevant resources available.

·         Students can choose whether to focus on one mode of transportation or multiple kinds.

·         Students will discuss their findings in their groups before creating their presentation.

·         Students will work collaboratively to create a presentation on Google Slides.  Presentations should generally contain 6-8 slides.  

·         Students will save a copy of their work in either their Google drive and/or USB drive.  They will also email a copy of the presentation to the teacher.

·         Groups will take turns presenting their presentations to the class. 

·          

RESOURCES

·         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_New_York_City_transit_crisis

·         https://www.citylab.com/perspective/2018/12/new-york-city-electric-bikes-transit-crisis-de-blasio/577969/

·         https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/nyregion/mta-fares-hike.html

·         https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/nyregion/nyc-subway-delays-cuomo.html

·         https://finance.yahoo.com/news/americas-largest-city-facing-monumental-subway-crisis-224037402.html

·         http://council.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LetsGo_Transit_Report.pdf

·         http://transitcenter.org/publications/turnaround-fixing-new-york-citys-buses/#introduction

·         https://psmag.com/economics/is-congestion-pricing-finally-coming-to-nyc

 

The 6 Steps of the Public Policy Analyst

1.    Define the Problem

2.    Gather the Evidence

3.    Identify the Causes

4.    Evaluate an Existing Policy

5.    Develop Solutions

6.    Select the Best Solution (Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)

 

EVALUATION:

Grades for all presentations will come from the rubric you see below:

Grading Rubric for Google Slide Presentation

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1	Points
Effectiveness	Project includes all material needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the topic.	Project includes most material needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the material but is lacking one or two key elements.	Project is missing more than two key elements.	Project is lacking several key elements and has inaccuracies.
Sequencing of Information	Information is organized in a clear, logical way. It is easy to anticipate the type of material that might be on the next slide.	Most information is organized in a clear, logical way. One slide or item of information seems out of place.	Some information is logically sequenced. An occasional slide or item of information seems out of place.	There is no clear plan for the organization of information.
Originality	Presentation shows considerable originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in a unique and interesting way.	Presentation shows some originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in an interesting way.	Presentation shows an attempt at originality and inventiveness on 1-2 slides.	Presentation is a rehash of other people's ideas and/or graphics and shows very little attempt at original thought.
Spelling and Grammar	Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors.	Presentation has 1-2 misspellings, but no grammatical errors.	Presentation has 1-2 grammatical errors but no misspellings.	Presentation has more than 2 grammatical and/or spelling errors.
Use of Graphics	All graphics are attractive (size and colors) and support the theme/content of the presentation.	A few graphics are not attractive but all support the theme/content of the presentation.	All graphics are attractive but a few do not seem to support the theme/content of the presentation.	Several graphics are unattractive AND detract from the content of the presentation.
Organization	PowerPoint contains a minimum of 6-8 slides. All parts of the task are completed fully and support the theme/content of the presentation.	PowerPoint contains a minimum of 6-8 slides. All parts of the task are completed partially and support the theme/content of the presentation.	PowerPoint contains fewer than 6 slides, or some slides designed do not support the theme/content of the presentation.	PowerPoint contains fewer than 6 slides and is missing several parts of the task. Slides designed do not support the theme/content of the presentation.

 

 

CONCLUSION

At the end of this assignment, you should be able to use the PPA system to identify a social problem and propose an effective solution for it.

 

 

STANDARDS

1.    5W1: Write an argument to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence

2.    5W6: Conduct research to answer questions, including self-generated questions, and to build knowledge through investigation of multiple aspects of a topic using multiple sources.

3.    5W7: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from multiple sources; summarize or paraphrase; avoid plagiarism and provide a list of sources.

4.