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Civic Literacy · Resource-planning puzzle

A town budget with tradeoffs

Allocate 100 planning tokens across five needs and explain what your choices give up.

Open for classroom testing · About 15 minutes, adjustable

Resource-planning puzzleWork in this browser
The civic district · present dayA town budget with tradeoffs

Resource simulation

Build a plan. Test the tradeoffs.

A fictional town has 100 planning tokens. Fund streets, transit access, parks, drainage, and a reserve. The town requires at least 45 tokens across streets and drainage together.

Fictional simulation values. All costs, starting values, effects, and targets are invented. Points are model outputs, not percentages, real prices, or predicted community outcomes. Actual budgets include many more services and legal requirements.

Total available100planning tokens
Left to allocate0planning tokens
Street maintenance

Each token adds 1.2 reliability points and 0.2 resilience points.

10–45 planning tokens, in steps of 5

Transit access

Each token adds 1.5 access points.

10–45 planning tokens, in steps of 5

Parks and shared space

Each token adds 0.5 access and 0.6 resilience points.

5–35 planning tokens, in steps of 5

Drainage improvements

Each token adds 1.5 resilience points.

10–40 planning tokens, in steps of 5

Reserve for unexpected costs

Each token adds one reserve point.

10–30 planning tokens, in steps of 5

Course connections

Reviewed NC references: CL.E.1.1

Voluntary national references: D2.Civ.13.9-12 · 2.H.2

Compare the activity’s scope with your own course requirements. These connections identify practice opportunities; they do not establish full standards mastery or a match for every state.