Math City · Lesson 2
Build Your City
The contract is signed: house 10,000 people for $125,000: with enough fire stations, schools, and parks to keep them safe and happy. Every choice is math.
📜 Your contract
Last lesson you learned that in the simple model, every building cost the same per person. Real cities aren't like that,towers share elevators and land, cottages don't, so now each building has its own price tag. Spend wisely:
- 🎯 Population: at least 10,000 residents
- 💰 Budget: $125,000 total, housing AND services
- 🚒🏫🌳 Services: enough fire stations, schools, and parks for your population
The Builder 🏙️
Use + and − to build. Watch your skyline grow, and your budget shrink.
Housing
Services (the city tells you how many you need)
The Planner's Division Secret ➗
Notice how the city calculates services: 9,000 people ÷ 4,000 per fire station = 2.25… but you can't build a quarter of a fire station! Planners always round UP, it's called the ceiling.
A town has 9,000 people. Each school serves 3,500. How many schools must they build?
The Value Check 💰
Divide each building's cost by the people it houses:
| Building | Cost | People | Cost per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🏙️ Mega Tower | $18,000 | 2,500 | $______ |
| 🏢 Apartment Block | $5,500 | 600 | $______ |
| 🏠 Cottage Row | $1,200 | 100 | $______ |
Which housing gives the most people per dollar?
🏆 Your XP Progress
- ○ Completed a legal city (pop + budget + services) +12 XP
- ○ Mastered ceiling division +6 XP
- ○ Passed the value check +7 XP
Total XP earned: 0 / 25
🖨️ Plan it on paper
Download the City Ledger, the same challenge as a paper worksheet: catalog, ledger table, service math, and totals.
🧭 Keep Going
🏆 Complete This Lesson!
City standing? Mark this lesson complete to track your progress.