urbanized

Last night, Kurt, Christian, and I went to the IFC Center to see Urbanized, a new documentary by the same guy that did Helvetica and Objectified. I'm obviously already a big city lover, so I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It profiled many large and small cities across the globe, detailing their strengths and weaknesses. They had interviews with residents and experts from each place who spoke about planning, transportation, housing, and other local projects. I would have loved to seem more "regular" people, but I was impressed that the film maker was able secure (sometimes funny) interviews with politicians, big name architects and planners, and artists willing to speak openly about their urban habitat. Of course, Kurt and I kept comparing the film to this book which we both read and loved, but Urbanized provided a nice overview of varying urban situations and how people are working to make them better. The film was great but lacked the statistics, details, and criticisms we devoured in the book. I can understand having to appeal to a wider audience than just us nerdy urbanists though :)

While living a huge city with millions of other people can be draining at times, the movie did a great job highlighting what makes them amazing and how they are going to shape the future. The film got our wheels turning about where to travel next...Cape Town, South Africa anyone? Singapore? Bogota? All in the name of research, of course :)

If you get a chance, you should definitely see Urbanized. I know documentaries don't always get to many theaters, but put it on your list of things to see on DVD eventually. And to my lucky Raleigh reader, I require highly suggest you go to this screening next Monday. Make it a special TV night outing perhaps? It's right down the street!!