Geometry in cities

Sometimes, teachers have doubts and feel lost about how to bring geometry into the classroom from a more

realistic and therefore more meaningful perspective. However, it's not actually that complicated, because in

many cases we simply need to look beyond what is immediately apparent. Unfortunately, it's true that we

currently live in a primarily digital world where everything moves very fast, and we often move so quickly

from one place to another and from one thing to another that we don't stop to notice our surroundings.

This also applies to geometry, it's everywhere around us, we just have to look closely. For example, from

urban structures to the natural environment. Therefore, making geometry accessible to students is easier than

we might imagine.

Walking through the city is a daily activity with which we can find geometry everywhere. Therefore, as teachers,

a possible task that we could do with our students is to ask them to observe their surroundings while they are on

the streets and we would also encourage them to look for rectangles, circles, and triangles. A few days later, after

giving the pupils enough time to pay attention to the geometric shapes of their environment, they can share the

elements they have found with those geometric shapes.

Two of the most common geometric shapes in cities are the circle and the cylinder. The circle, for example,

can be seen in roundabouts, in water fountains, or in car wheels. The cylinder can be found in lampposts or bins.

Note. Urban elements with circular shape.

Note. Urban elements with cylindrical shape.

On the other hand, rectangles are probably the most common shapes in a city. A rectangle is “a four-sided shape

that is made up of two pairs of parallel lines and that has four right angles” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.).

Windows, doors, buildings, screens, and pedestrian crossings are often this shape.

Note. Urban elements with rectangular shape.

Similarly, triangles also have some relevance. “Triangles are formed by three line segments, sometimes called

edges, whose end points intersect at points known as the vertices” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.). For example,

many traffic signs and some house roofs are triangular in shape.

Note. Urban elements with triangular shape.

References:

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Rectangle. The Britannica Dictionary. https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/rectangle

Life in geometric shapes