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Review
of Smart Growth Videos Smart
Growth America has provided these descriptions and contact information for videos
on a range of smart growth topics.
The American Architectural Foundation. “Back From the Brink: Saving America’s
Cities by Design.” Washington, DC. 1996. 202-626-7514.
A profile
of three American cities - Portland, Oregon, Suisun City, California, and Chattanooga,
Tennessee - that have been revitalized trough architectural design and urban planning.
Extensive footage of the major components of each city’s revitalization such
as mass transit in Portland, a waterfront festival in Suisun, and an aquarium
in Chattanooga. Excellent interviews with local participants including mayors,
business owners, economic developers, and builders. Hosted by former Seattle mayor
Charles Royer. 56 minutes. **** The
Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “A Pattern for Living.” Annapolis, Maryland.
1994.
800-728-5229 or 410-268-8832.
A series of still shots and background
narration contrasting historic and sprawl development. Highlights communities
in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania that have used historic towns as a model
for new development. Presents a list of the primary disadvantages of sprawl. Pictures
of historic development include farms, fields, forests, rural homes, aerial views
of communities, and homes with front porches that are set close to the street;
those of sprawl include curvilinear street patterns, traffic congestion, and parking
lots. The photographs are high-quality and excellent for illustrating differences
between the two patterns of growth. 20 minutes. **** The
Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “Beyond Sprawl: Towards Sustainable Patterns of
Growth for the 21st Century.” Annapolis, Maryland. 800-728-5229 or 410-268-8832.
Describes the impact of current patterns of development on the quality of the
Chesapeake Bay and suggests solutions that can be undertaken by local governments.
Solutions are urban growth boundaries, infill development, transit-oriented development,
transfer of development rights, rural clustering, and traditional neighborhood
development. Includes interviews with both local and national activists. Production
quality is moderate and interviews are slow-paced but description of solutions
is excellent. 15 minutes. ** Citizens
for a Better Environment. “Back to the Future.” Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
414-271-7280.
Shows how communities can be vibrant while accommodating
pedestrians, bicycles, and mass transit. Focuses on several communities in Wisconsin
that have accomplished this through pedestrian-scale design, concentration of
services, and mixed-use neighborhoods. Compares neighborhoods with strip malls,
dangerous intersections, curvilinear streets and huge parking lots to neighborhoods
with pedestrian-accessible store fronts, bicycle paths, sidewalk safety features,
and homes with front porches and garages in the alleys. Plenty of footage of families
and pedestrians in neighborhoods including many kids in strollers. Begins with
a parody of “Bob,” a fellow who is rankled and exhausted from an attempt
to walk from his office to a restaurant through single-use, low density development.
*** Envision
Utah. “Promo Version.” 1998. 801-973-3204.
Designed to promote
Envision Utah, a metropolitan growth management project composed of 100 Utah leaders.
Features interviews with Utah political and business leaders, statistical projections
of growth in the Salt Lake City metropolitan region, a list of factors that affect
growth, and a list of criteria for growth management decision-making in Utah.
The interviews are contrived and stilted and the discussion of common values and
Utah growth would be interesting only to Utah residents. Descriptive footage of
road construction, outdoor recreation, and development’s encroachment on
farmland. 14 minutes. * Center
of Excellence for Sustainable Development, US Department of Energy, Denver Regional
Support Office. “Creating Communities that Work.” Golden, Colorado.
303-275-4800 or 800-357-7732.
Shows sustainable communities in Davis,
CA, Pattonsburg, MO, Portland, OR, and Harlem. The Pattonsburg section shows a
community workshop in which residents redesign their community after it was devastated
by a flood. The Harlem section focuses on “The Greening of Harlem,”
a project which involves children in designing playgrounds and creating community
gardens. The members of these communities come across as genuine, sincere and
innovative in their interviews. 16 minutes. “Placemakers:
Bringing Back our Neighborhoods.”
In-depth coverage of grassroots
neighborhood revitalization activities in Kansas City’s West Side, Portland,
OR, and Seattle, WA. Excellent interviews with local activists including a grocery
store owner in Kansas City, a resident who initiated the installation of traffic
calming medians on her street in Portland, and a city council member in Seattle.
27 minutes. US
Geological Survey, National Space and Aeronautics Administration, and the University
of Maryland. “Urban Growth: Baltimore - Washington Region.” 415-604-5299
(NASA), 703-648-4801 or 703-648-5539 (USGS), or 410-455-3149 (University of Maryland).
A time lapse simulation of the growth of human settlements in Washington,
DC and Baltimore from the 18th century until 1992. Based on NASA photos. Approximately
5 minutes. “Futurescape
96: Our Community Planning Process.”
Describes a vision of growth
management for Chattanooga, TN and describes a survey and a series of town meetings
that involved over 2000 community residents in the planning process. Shows alternative
community designs and the scores they received from survey participants. Narrated
by Heidi Robinson of WDEF television. Shows some structures - such as parking
lots, streetscapes and vacant buildings - and superimposed computer simulations
of improvements to them. KSL
Television News, FOX-13 Television News, and ABC Television News. “Envision
Utah Press Coverage.” 801-973-3204
A series of local news reports
about the efforts of Envision Utah, a broad coalition that addresses planning
issues to cope with Utah’s booming population. Extended and candid footage
of residents and leaders participating in a community planning process through
visual preference surveys and discussions around maps. The
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Architecture. “Giving
Hope: East St. Louis and the University of Illinois. “ OACE #022. 217-333-2007
or 217-333-1000.
A documentary description of the East St. Louis Action
Research Project, a neighborhood revitalization initiative conducted by the University
of Illinois and community members of East St. Louis. Excellent footage of citizens
building a community park, participating in design workshops and celebrating the
opening of the park. Includes footage of students and planners canvassing a neighborhood.
Also shows kids helping with the construction, offering their ideas about the
design process, and playing in the sand. 19 minutes. The
Chattanooga Institute. “Market Analysis Charette.” Chattanooga, TN.
423-266-0521.
Excerpts from speeches of local leaders and national planning
excerpts about Chattanooga’s urban revitalization project. Speeches dubbed
over scenes of the audience and participants mingling at a cocktail party.
The Chattanooga Institute and Christopher Koch. “Chattanooga: The
Sustainable City.” Chattanooga, TN. 1995. 423-266-0521.
A documentary-style
overview of sustainable development projects taking pace in Chattanooga including
a recycling center that employees mentally retarded adults, a fresh water aquarium,
a small factory that makes alternative energy buses, and plans for a zero-emissions
industrial facility. Features footage of historic Chattanooga including a shot
where the air pollution is as thick as fog, a street festival, and Davie Crockett’s
descendent in a canoe. There are also interviews with unnamed local figures. 17
minutes. Urban
Land Institute. “Eye on Business #464.” 1998. 800-321-5011
A
news report on The New America which highlights the Urban Land Institute’s
work on smart growth issues. Features interviews of smart growth proponents and
developers including ULI chairman. New
Day Films. “Taken for a RIDE.” Yellow Springs, OH. 513-767-9357 or 415-461-7756.
A PBS documentary of a post-war campaign by National City Lines, a General Motors-backed
company, to replace streetcar lines on order to promote bus and automobile sales.
Contains excellent historic footage of massive crowds surrounding streetcars and
the rapid construction of post-war subdivisions. Also contains interviews: three
postal workers on the Los Angeles freeway talk about the hassle of commuting and
elderly citizens reflect on their memories of riding streetcars. 55 minutes. Partners
for Smart Commuting. “Television Public Service Announcements.” 1991-1998.
A series of 30-second public service announcements that illustrate various
ways to “leave your car home one day a week.” Includes ride sharing,
bicycling and telecommuting. These are pretty funny spots. On
the Ground. “Inside Infill: Stories from the Field.” Berkeley, CA. 1994.
510-883-0433.
I nterviews with developers, residents and architects about
the principles of and obstacles to infill development. Begins with a US Geological
Survey animation of human settlement expansion in the San Francisco Bay Area over
time. 28 minutes. Maryland
Office of Planning. “Preserving What’s Best about Maryland.” 410-767-4510.
Describes population and construction growth in Maryland and discusses
smart growth strategies to cope with it. Features interviews with farm owners
who are preserving their land from development, a Baltimore resident discussing
the boom period of the downtown area, the mayor of Haggerstown discussing urban
sprawl, a Maryland developer discussing “smart development,” and a small
business owner discussing the effect of construction patterns. ICMA.
“Main Street.” 202-962-3685.
Describes a project in New Orleans
which converts a former brownfields site into use as a community and school district
center for aquatic projects. Excellent interviews with community residents and
good historical industry shots including a shot of a high school teacher working
with his students on a fish project. US
EPA, “Smart Growth” 202-260-2750.
Has short introduction on
the impacts of conventional development patterns. Talks about smart growth alternatives,
stressing various principles of design. Examples of real places with interviews
with design experts, government officials and community activists. 15 minutes “Subdivide
and Conquer” http://www.subdividefilm.com/
Explores the consequences of sprawl in cities, suburbs and towns, the history
of this automobile-centered pattern of development, and alternatives for creating
more livable communities. Along the way, it also examines American myths about
the endless frontier and rugged individualism. Narrated by Dennis Weaver. | 
