Urbanized is one part of a three part series by Gary Hustwit released in 2011. Check out
Helvetica and
Objectified, the other two pieces. It takes the viewer into the minds of the planners, architects, designers and city dwellers that have to meet in the middle to decide the future of cities. It is often easy for the people living in a city to not realize the amount of work that goes into the future development. You can bet that every tree, sidewalk, fire hydrant, park bench, water fountain, trash can, bike rack, security pole, light pole and handicap parking space was thought over many meetings between all the parties involved. Urbanized breaks down developments around the world including New York City, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Bogata, Columbia, Cape Town, Africa and Santiago, Chile. One of my favorite highlights is the
High Line in NYC. I've visited this above ground pedestrian walkway a year ago and wished it continued throughout all of Manhattan. It is a peaceful place to take in the views of the city while admiring the diversity of people. (People watching galore).
A city is like a well-oiled machine; it takes lots of engineering to build but also a good amount of maintenance to keep running smoothly. Cities need to have everything a person could want (minus the break-taking views of living on a mountain by yourself) including: safety, bike lanes, wide sidewalks, grocery stores, public meeting spaces, shops, public transport and office spaces. Phoenix, AZ shines a different light on urbanization. Just
google it to see how cookie-cutter these homes are. I can't argue too much because I grew up in the suburbs. You can now find me living in Richmond, VA where I can do anything without the need of a car.
Urbanization will decide how energy consumption will trend over the next century. Cities have shown to be more green while suburbs not so much. Dense areas can take advantage of the quantities of scale but personal preference of privacy and property come into play. My opinion: don't hate it till you try it. All in all, this is an interesting take of developments and we all need to think the planners for the hard work they put in to accomodate us. Let's just hope they make the right choice.
-Peace
@chaseappich
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