Novi Hosts Competition for Student Designed Future Cities

Dozens of students presented their visions for the future Monday, during the 2014 Future City event at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. 

Teams of 6th-8th graders from 19 Michigan public and private schools, as well as homeschoolers, spent the morning talking with judges who ranked their entries in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) competition. This year's theme: “Tomorrow’s Transit: Design A Way To Move People In And Around Your City.”

For the fourth straight year, students from St. John Lutheran School in Rochester took home top honors, along with a slew of other special awards. They will move on to February's national Future City in Washington, D.C. 

St. Valentine School in Redford placed second; third place went to MacArthur K-8 University Academy in Southfield; and the Jain Society of Greater Detroit in Farmington Hills placed fourth. Athanasius Kircher Academy in Belleville—a homeschool group–rounded out the top five. 

Among the volunteer judges was a group from the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans, who for the past seven years have honored the best Future City design for people with disabilities. 

"The goal is to plant a seed at a young age, that when you're planning, include people with disabilities," judge Michael Harris said.