Getting Urbanized
As a newbie to "new urbanism," I am finding that films that adhere to the new thinking and visions of what cities are changing from/to are few and far between. But I am also including narrative fiction films where "the city" is almost a character within the story itself.
This is my attempt at capturing what films are helpful in this regard so that I can recommend them to people who share this interest with me and are interested in joining this community of like-minded folks throughout the world...
This is my attempt at capturing what films are helpful in this regard so that I can recommend them to people who share this interest with me and are interested in joining this community of like-minded folks throughout the world...
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- DirectorGary HustwitStarsAmanda M. BurdenRem KoolhaasNorman FosterA documentary about the design of cities, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world's foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers.This is an excellent overall starting point for a person interested in urbanism and the changing thinking as we begin to conceive/plan for the cities of the future in the age of climate change. The way we live is really about to radically change and this describes many of the reasons why. Even though it is five years old in a rapidly changing field, it still does a good job covering the bases of the new thinking spreading around the world as cities begin to solve problems and learn from each other about what works and what does not.
- DirectorMatt TyrnauerStarsThomas CampanellaVincent D'OnofrioMindy FulliloveWriter and urban activist Jane Jacobs fights to save historic New York City during the ruthless redevelopment era of urban planner Robert Moses in the 1960s.A documentary film about the two great theories about cities that emerged in the 20th century. Modernist/top-down urban planning uses urban renewal and prioritizes the automobile. It is represented by Robert Moses. The other theory regarding city life at the level of the street is through the lens of Jane Jacobs, author of the 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities...
- DirectorWilliam H. WhyteStarsWilliam H. WhyteThis highly influential film in architecture and planning circles by William H. Whyte analyzes the success and failures of urban spaces. Observing the natural order of spaces and the way people move through them, Whyte provides an intuitive critique of urban spaces and ways these spaces can be improved.The film, produced in conjunction with the Municipal Art Society of New York, records the daily patterns of people socializing around the Seagram Building plaza. The plaza was the site of a landmark planning study by William H. Whyte, the American sociologist, showing how people actually use space, varying from the supposed intent of the architects.
- DirectorLaurence HydeStarsJane JacobsWriter Jane Jacobs on North American cities."This short documentary features acclaimed author and activist Jane Jacobs' forthright, critical analysis of the problems and virtues of North American cities. Jacobs orients her fascinating observations around Toronto, to which she moved after leaving New York City because Toronto "is a city that still has options ... it hasn't made so many mistakes that it's bound to go downhill.” Her remarks, made in 1971, are prescient yet earnest and will interest all urban stakeholders. This colourful city film, accompanied by an upbeat, jazzy soundtrack, is a must-see for all civic and community groups—indeed, for all urban dwellers worldwide..."
- DirectorAndreas DalsgaardStarsJan GehlRob AdamsRobert DoyleHalf of the human population lives in urban areas. By 2050, this will increase to 80%. Life in a megacity is both enchanting and problematic. Today we face peak oil, climate change, loneliness and severe health issues due to our way of life. But why? The Danish architect and professor Jan Gehl has studied human behavior in cities through four decades. He has documented how modern cities repel human interaction, and argues that we can build cities in a way, which takes human needs for inclusion and intimacy into account. 'The Human Scale' meets thinkers, architects and urban planners across the globe. It questions our assumptions about modernity, exploring what happens when we put people into the centre of our planning.
- DirectorMichael GlawoggerA look at the people who live precariously, but with an unusual level of resourcefulness and imagination, in four gigantic urban agglomerations: Mumbai, New York City, Moscow and Mexico City.
- DirectorRalph SteinerWillard Van DykeStarsMorris CarnovskyA prescient documentary about city planning, which presents idyllic suburbs and nuclear families as a solution to the chaos, poverty and social decay of industrialized inner cities.The City is a pioneering short documentary film from 1939 that contrasts the problems of the contemporary urban environment with the superior social and physical conditions that can be provided in a planned community. It was directed and photographed by Ralph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke from a treatment by Lewis Mumford based on an outline by Pare Lorentz (ed. from the ideas of Catherine Bauer Wurster). Aaron Copland wrote the musical score and Morris Carnovsky provided the narration." (Wikipedia)
- DirectorFredrik GerttenStarsAline CavalcanteDan KoeppelRaquel RolnikBikes vs Cars is a documentary about the bike and what an amazing tool for change it can be. It highlights a conflict in city planning between bikes, cars and a growing reliance on fossil fuels.
- DirectorJeremy BeasleyStarsDee WilliamsBen CampbellNicholette Jean CoddingSmall is Beautiful is a documentary following four people as they build their own tiny houses in pursuit of a mortgage free lifestyle, discovering that living tiny is about so much more than just the house.
- DirectorMerete MuellerChristopher SmithStarsDaryl GibsonMerete MuellerJay ShaferTwo young people decide to downsize their lives by building a 'tiny home' on a flatbed trailer.
- DirectorDiego EcheverriaStarsMarta AvilésEvelyn BorgesTito LopezIn the late 70s and early 80s, Los Sures was one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York City. In fact, it had been called the worst ghetto in America. Diego Echeverria's film skillfully represents the challenges of its time: drugs, gang violence, crime, abandoned real estate, racial tension, single-parent homes, and inadequate local resources. The complex portrait also celebrates the vitality of this largely Puerto Rican and Dominican community, showing the strength of their culture, their creativity, and their determination to overcome a desperate situation. Beautifully restored just in time for the 30th anniversary of the premiere at the New York Festival, this documentary is a priceless piece of New York City history.Inside Pre-Gentrification Williamsburg
This refurbished 1984 documentary on the Brooklyn neighborhood once known as “Los Sures” recalls a time before hipsters:
www.citylab.com/housing/2016/04/a-time-capsule-showing-pre-gentrification-williamsburg/476958/ - DirectorJordan MechnerStarsCheech MarinNarrated by Cheech Marin and scored by Ry Cooder, this half-hour documentary captures how a community was betrayed by greed, political hypocrisy, and good intentions gone astray.
- DirectorChad FreidrichsStarsSlyvester BrownIrvin DagenElmer Fiedler2011 "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth" explores the rise & fall of titular housing complex in St. Louis, examining racism & gov. Policies through interviews with former residents & historical footage. Ft racism, urban poverty & inequality in America.In a word: Devastating...
- DirectorAdam CurtisStarsDavid JonesTom AkroydBill AllenDocumentary about the system built housing of the 1960's.
- DirectorFredrik GerttenStarsLeilani FarhaSaskia SassenStig WesterdahlA documentary shedding light on the global phenomenon of the commodification of housing and consequent lack of affordability, especially through the eyes of Leilani Farha, a United Nations special rapporteur on housing who lives in Canada.
- DirectorDavid M. EdwardsStarsThomas S. AhlbrandtJustin BarrDena BelzerWith more than 250 million cars and trucks on the road and the demand for oil out pacing the Earth's ability to supply it, have we now become slaves to this unsustainable freedom?
- DirectorGiovanni Vaz Del BelloStarsJaime LernerCassio TaniguchiNicolau KlüppelThere is hope! This inspirational documentary shows a city where urban solutions are not just theory, but a reality. The film shows innovations in the areas of transportation, recycling, social benefits (affordable housing), parks, and the great philosophy behind the successful leaders that transformed Curitiba in a model green city.
- DirectorJim BrownGary BurnsStarsDaniel JefferyBob LegareJane MacFarlaneAn examination of the nature of modern suburbia.
- 20041h 18mNot Rated7.4 (1K)DirectorGregory GreeneStarsBarrie ZwickerJames Howard KunstlerPeter CalthorpeThe modern suburbs have ultimately become an unsustainable way of living. They were originally developed in an era of cheap oil, when the automobile became the center of the way people lived and an era when people wanted to escape the inner city to a more pastoral or rural way of life. However the suburbs quickly evolved into a merely a place to live that had neither the benefits of rural or urban life, and where one was reliant on an automobile both to travel elsewhere and even travel within the neighborhood. The suburbs are not only dependent upon cheap energy, but also reliable energy. The reliability of energy is becoming less so as demonstrated by the multi-day blackout of the North American Eastern Seaboard starting on August 14, 2003. Part of the problem of getting out of the suburban mentality is that a generation has grown up believing it to be a normal way of life, and a life of entitlement, which they will not give up without a fight. But many developers and planners and some of the general public understand the want and need to make the way the collective we live in a more walkable and humanistic manner.
- DirectorHarry ShearerStarsHarry ShearerJohn GoodmanBrad PittFollows three remarkable people--the leaders of two scientific investigation teams, and one whistleblower--as they reveal the true story of why New Orleans flooded.
- DirectorMarc SingerStarsMarc SingerA cinematic portrait of the homeless population who live permanently in the underground tunnels of New York City.
- DirectorGodfrey ReggioStarsEdward AsnerPat BenatarJerry BrownA collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.
- StarsOscar IsaacNatalie PaulCarla QuevedoNick Wasicsko takes office as mayor of Yonkers in 1987 and has to face the issue of building public housing in the white, middle-class side of town.
- CreatorFred ArmisenCarrie BrownsteinJonathan KriselStarsFred ArmisenCarrie BrownsteinKyle MacLachlanA sketch-comedy series that parodies life in Portland, Oregon.This should need no explanation...
- DirectorPaul HaggisStarsDon CheadleSandra BullockThandiwe NewtonLos Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.