Historic Urban Sprawl Films

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Historic Urban Sprawl Films

If youre interested in urban sprawl, city planning, urban problems and civil engineering, you must add this one-of-a-kind DVD compilation to your educational/historical collection. We have put together an amazing compilation of the finest and most pertinent and valuable films dealing with these urban issues as early as the 1940s.

Included Films:

The Changing City

Produced: 1963

Length: 17 Minutes

The Changing City discusses of the problems cities faced due to big business, population growth, and urban sprawl. It has many scenes of Orange County suburbia in the early 60s. Full of wonderful cultural footage, there are excellent aerial shots, billboards, advertisements for new housing developments, shopping malls and more. The film outlines the logistical issues such traffic congestion in the cities, but goes even deeper into the psychological aspects of city life. Loneliness, boredom, and isolation that suburban housewives suffered from are illuminated: Suburbia is exciting for children, but Mom may feel trapped and miss the stimulation of the city. Advice for city planners to help them avoid the pitfalls of urban sprawl caps off this fantastic historical movie on urbanization.

Birth of a City

Produced: 1950s

Length: 15 Minutes

Birth of a City promotes a new town, Broomfield Heights, Colorado as a wonderful, modern place to live. A narrator makes predictions for the growth and success of Broomfield Heights (now just Broomfield) as planners and organizers draw up plans for the new town, contractors build the houses and businesses, and then as people move into the new homes. The whole town is organized around a central shopping district. Broomfield Heights is now a thriving community that is still experiencing growth today. Birth of a City is a quaint and interesting look at the history of city planning and urban sprawl.

No Time for Ugliness

Produced: 1965

Length: 24 Minutes

No Time for Ugliness, sponsored by the American Institute of Architects, discusses the problems faced by American cities in the 1960s due to unsightly urban growth. It focuses on the problems that occur when businesses are allowed to mar the landscape with ugly billboards and neon signs, build cheap housing and retail buildings, and cause pollution. It also mentions that cities are now built in a way that almost makes it impossible to live in them without a car, and the problems that pedestrians face in urban sprawl. Since the government was funding urban renewal projects at the time, the film also discusses architecture and design practices. No Time for Ugliness is a great historical movie.

Cities: How They Grow

Produced: 1950s

Length: 9 Minutes

This Encyclopedia Britannica film explores the common problems faced by Americas growing cities. Social unrest due to rapid growth is illustrated by a mob fight scene. It touches on the proper ways to plan new growth, uses maps to explain how cities grow, and includes many scenes of 1950s urban life.

Story of a City: New York

Produced: 1946

Length: 20 Minutes

If youve never visited the city of New York, you can do a little research by watching this vintage film. Become informed on how it was established and the fascinating statistics of the crowded Northeastern town. As the leading commercial city of the United States, Manhattan is home to millions of people with so many different backgrounds and history, it is the main melting pot of America. This video recognizes the cultural greatness that emanates from such a bustling metropolitan and illuminates the amazing history of New York City.