urbanism

Evil Does Not Exist

Wed, 06 Dec 2023

Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a camping site near Takumi's house offering city residents a comfortable "escape" to nature.

Dear Diary

Fri, 12 Nov 1993

Nanni Moretti recalls in his diary three slice of life stories characterized by a sharply ironic look: in the first one he wanders through a deserted Rome, in the second he visits a reclusive friend on an island, and in the last he has to grapple with an unknown illness.

A Capital Plan

Sat, 01 Jan 1949

This short documentary features a portrait of Ottawa in the mid-20th century, as the nascent Canadian capital grew with force but without direction. Street congestion, air pollution, and rail traffic were all the negative results of a city that had grown without being properly planned. French architect and urban designer Jacques Gréber stepped in to create a far-sighted plan for the future development of Ottawa. With tracks moved, factories relocated, and neighbourhoods redesigned as separate communities, Ottawa became the capital city of true beauty and dignity we know today.

City Center and Pedestrians

Tue, 01 Jan 1974

This film focusses on the approaches that several cities have taken to one problem. Through various examples, it examines the implications and options for a pedestrian-oriented city core.

Peripheria

Sat, 12 Sep 2015

This haunting, beautifully crafted animation is set in a not-so-distant dystopia where lonely, suspicious pack dogs set the boundaries of their world amidst the remains of human presence. Within the confines of this border, the best and worst of animal behavior begin to manifest.

Montréal: The Neighborhood Revived

Tue, 16 Apr 1974

This full-length documentary from the Challenge for Change program addresses housing issues affecting Montreal in the mid-1970s. As the city is restoring older apartments through direct action and government subsidies, new, low-rent housing is being integrated into old neighborhoods.

Saskatoon: Land and Growth Control

Tue, 01 Jan 1974

In the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, an effective government policy of controlling land investment prevents speculation, keeps land prices down, and provides a good balance between commercial, residential and public areas.

Basingstoke - Runcorn - British New Towns

Tue, 01 Jan 1974

Great Britain was the first country to plan the establishment of 'new towns' to house the overflow from rapidly expanding industrial centres. Today these towns number over one hundred. This film examines the operation of two of them.

Douce France

Wed, 16 Jun 2021

Amina, Sami and Jennyfer are high school students in the Paris suburbs, in 93. At the initiative of 3 of their teachers, they embark on an unexpected investigation into a gigantic leisure park project which involves concreting agricultural land near their homes. But can we have the power to act on a territory when we are 17 years old? Funny and intrepid, these new citizens take us to meet residents of their neighborhood, property developers, farmers and even elected officials of the National Assembly. A joyful quest that challenges conventional wisdom and revives our connection to the land!

Ellas en la ciudad

Thu, 22 May 2025

"Ellas en la ciudad" (Them in the City) focuses on the first settlers of the neighborhoods on the outskirts of Seville. Through their stories, we discover that they have been the backbone of a city that has turned its back on them.

Düsseldorf - Balanced Urban Growth

Sat, 01 Jun 1974

Individualized for profit, yet harmonious in its whole, Düsseldorf has met and largely conquered the conflicting demands of economic growth and human environment.

Encounter on Urban Environment

Fri, 01 Jan 1971

This feature documentary takes a look at how the Halifax/Dartmouth community in Nova Scotia was stimulated by a week-long session held by a panel of specialists from different fields who met with members of this urban community to consider the future of the area and the responsibility of the citizens and government in planning the future.

A Short History of the Highrise

Mon, 30 Sep 2013

“A Short History of the Highrise” is an interactive documentary that explores the 2,500-year global history of vertical living and issues of social equality in an increasingly urbanized world. The centerpiece of the project is four short films. The first three (“Mud,” “Concrete” and “Glass”) draw on The New York Times's extraordinary visual archives, a repository of millions of photographs that have largely been unseen in decades. Each film is intended to evoke a chapter in a storybook, with rhyming narration and photographs brought to life with intricate animation. The fourth chapter (“Home”) comprises images submitted by the public. The interactive experience incorporates the films and, like a visual accordion, allows viewers to dig deeper into the project’s themes with additional archival materials, text and microgames.

Citizen Jane: Battle for the City

Fri, 21 Apr 2017

Writer 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.

Bologna: An Ancient City for a New Society

Tue, 01 Jan 1974

Exemplary in its town planning and administration, Bologna has been transformed into a city that is avant-garde, both socially and culturally, yet still preserves its historical roots.

Griffintown

Sat, 01 Jan 1972

New Life S.A.

Thu, 03 Dec 2020

A young architect embarks on an ambitious real state development project in Brasília, convinced that he could actually help transform people’s lives and build a new form of society. But his utopia begins to fall apart when his dreams get in the way of corporate corruption and personal interests.

The Forest

Tue, 14 Aug 2018

A group of people in a dystopian future is led through the last forest in existence. Plants? What were they again?

Everything Will Be

Mon, 28 Apr 2014

Sundance award-winning director Julia Kwan’s documentary Everything Will Be captures the subtle nuances of a culturally diverse neighbourhood—Vancouver’s once thriving Chinatown—in the midst of transformation. The community’s oldest and newest members offer their intimate perspectives on the shifting landscape as they reflect on change, memory and legacy. Night and day, a neon sign that reads "EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT" looms over Chinatown. Everything is going to be alright, indeed, but the big question is for whom?

Operation: Jane Walk

Thu, 15 Mar 2018

The war zone of a dystopian multiplayer shooting game is used to embark some urban explorers on a winter walk, avoiding the combats whenever possible, as peaceful observers, inhabitants of a digital world, which is a detailed replica of Midtown Manhattan.