Urbanized is a documentary film directed by Gary Hustwit and a fine demonstrator of the challenges important cities face in both the present and the future. With insightful interviews and carefully selected images, viewers are projected the ways cities adapt to the continuous growth of the population and the climate change, among others. The third film of Hustwit’s trilogy attempts to dive into the deep waters of what is taken for granted and explores how cities are actually the physical manifestation of environmental, social and economic forces. The testimonies of professionals of their kind add a valuable stone in understanding urban design. Also, viewers comprehend that everything people see around them when they walk down the streets have been designed for them. All that occurs via a lively and pedagogical overall mood.
In light of the world’s growing population, people decide to move from rural areas into the cities, for various reasons. Consequently, cities need to come up with resourceful ways to cope with this massive arrival of people and drop in natural resources and energy. An example of a project that aimed at reducing energy use was that of Tiny Street Brighton. In Brighton, England city planners had an innovative idea to have the people of Brighton accountable for their use of energy. That means that inhabitants would take their weekly readings and report them to the directors, themselves. Then, directors used a 500-foot long graph that has been painted on the street, to track the progress. That way, residents were not only motivated to take control of their own energy use, and mind saving energy, but also enjoyed it.
Economic inequalities in modern urbanization are a fact that also has to be addressed. As more people flow into big cities, social structures change and so do economic relations. The income distribution changes, since a part of the society sees their income drop, while another part benefits from the massive increase of population. Usually, the poor become poorer as the average income declines; consequently, the quality of life for the poor in urbanized areas drops. Hustwit shows a project in India, where the government has taken measures to discourage people from moving into the slums. As of now, the code dictates that, for every 50 people, there should be at least one toilet. However, with the increase in popularity, a single toilet must now serve 500 people and the government appears unwilling to change the existing code, for the aforementioned reason.
An example of how designers managed to cope with economic disparities is the Elemental project, where a construction company in Chile developed a clever housing model, according to which the company would provide people and families living in the slums with the most costly parts of a house and leave the future house owners to decide on how they wanted to complete the rest of their house. Almost all of them showed a clear preference for a shower instead of a water heater for their house.
The overconsumption of carbon-based fuel is a serious problem in Phoenix, while Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, is depicted as an area that lacks environmental-friendly solutions. Urbanized shows viable solutions that combine what the locals want for their cities and what experts would wish to have for the cities. For example, urban cities are designed with bicycle lanes and areas for pedestrians, to walk and enjoy.
With people flowing into cities at high rates, safety is a serious issue that has to be looked into. Designers and city planner are called to come up with effective ways to ensure community safety. Undoubtedly, urban design has an impact on people’s daily lives and an example of such, is the Violence Prevention Through Urban Upgrading project that was applied in South Africa. Safety in Khayelitsha was under the spotlight. Community leaders together with designers worked together to make it a safer place, by making significant improvements to the existing lighting amenities, pedestrian pathways, and other community facilities. As a result, the feeling of safety has been uplifted among the community and crime rates have declined.
Works Cited:
Gary Hustwit (2011). “Urbanized”. Helvetica Productions
