Geography · Year 10

Active learning ideas

Gentrification and Urban Renewal

Active learning works for this topic because gentrification and urban renewal involve complex human and economic systems that students understand better by doing rather than just reading. Students need to analyze real sites, debate conflicting viewpoints, and map change over time to grasp how abstract policies affect real communities.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9G10K06

• 30–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 50 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Australian Gentrification Sites

Divide class into expert groups on sites like Sydney's Redfern or Melbourne's Collingwood. Each group researches displacement data, economic shifts, and resident stories using provided sources. Groups then teach peers via 3-minute presentations with maps and timelines.

Analyze the social displacement caused by gentrification in urban neighborhoods.

Facilitation Tip

During the Case Study Jigsaw, assign each group a different Australian site so they compare rent trends, demographic shifts, and local voices before presenting findings to the class.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a long-term resident in a neighborhood undergoing gentrification. What are your primary concerns, and what actions could you take to advocate for your community's needs?' Facilitate a class discussion where students articulate these concerns and potential advocacy strategies.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Formal Debate
• 45 min · Small Groups

Stakeholder Role-Play: Renewal Debate

Assign roles like developers, long-term residents, council officials, and business owners. Provide role cards with perspectives on a hypothetical renewal project. Students negotiate outcomes in character, then debrief on compromises reached.

Evaluate the economic benefits and drawbacks of urban renewal projects.

Facilitation Tip

In the Stakeholder Role-Play, give each student role cards with clear goals and constraints so they debate renewal policies from authentic perspectives like long-term residents, developers, or city council members.

What to look for

Ask students to write down one specific economic benefit and one specific social drawback of an urban renewal project they learned about. They should also identify one stakeholder group that might benefit most from the project and one that might be negatively impacted.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Formal Debate
• 35 min · Pairs

Mapping Exercise: Before and After Renewal

Students use Google Earth or printed maps to overlay old and new images of a renewal area like Perth's Elizabeth Quay. Annotate social and economic changes, then discuss patterns in pairs before whole-class share.

Differentiate between different models of urban regeneration.

Facilitation Tip

For the Mapping Exercise, provide 10-year-old and current street-view images side by side so students label physical and social changes they observe in the neighborhood.

What to look for

Present students with two brief case studies of urban regeneration: one top-down government-led project and one community-driven initiative. Ask them to list two key differences in their approach and expected outcomes for local residents.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Formal Debate
• 30 min · Small Groups

Pros-Cons Sort: Regeneration Models

Provide cards listing features of top-down vs. bottom-up regeneration. In small groups, students sort into benefit/drawback columns for each model, justify choices, and vote on most effective for Australian cities.

Analyze the social displacement caused by gentrification in urban neighborhoods.

Facilitation Tip

In the Pros-Cons Sort, use color-coded cards for economic, social, and environmental impacts so students categorize regeneration models by effect type before ranking their sustainability.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a long-term resident in a neighborhood undergoing gentrification. What are your primary concerns, and what actions could you take to advocate for your community's needs?' Facilitate a class discussion where students articulate these concerns and potential advocacy strategies.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by grounding abstract concepts in local examples students can relate to, using visuals and data to make invisible processes visible. Avoid presenting gentrification as purely negative or positive; instead, structure activities where students weigh trade-offs and consider multiple stakeholder viewpoints. Research suggests that role-plays and mapping exercises build empathy and critical thinking better than lectures alone.

Successful learning looks like students explaining how gentrification displaces some residents while attracting investment, and articulating why renewal projects differ in their social impacts. They should use evidence from case studies and maps to support their arguments during discussions and role-plays.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• Gentrification benefits all residents equally.

  During the Case Study Jigsaw, watch for students who assume rent increases help the community. Redirect them to analyze rent trend graphs and resident quotes from their assigned sites to identify who actually benefits and who faces displacement.

• Urban renewal is just about new buildings and ignores people.

  During the Mapping Exercise, watch for students who focus only on infrastructure changes. Redirect them to annotate photos with notes about disappearing small businesses, changing storefronts, and resident displacement they observe in the images.

• All urban regeneration models work the same everywhere.

  During the Pros-Cons Sort, watch for students who generalize outcomes across models. Redirect them to compare cards labeled 'Indigenous-led project' with 'Developer-driven project' to identify context-specific differences in goals and impacts.

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Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw
• Formal Debate