American Suburbia
Season 4
2005 • 6 Episodes
Changes are essential to progress even if there is a price to be paid. Learn the consequences of living in modern housing schemes-isolation and frustration. We also focus on the benefits of housing schemes, the need to replace slums with modern homes and the hope that proper planning would prevent problems in the future. See the long-term benefits of industries and consequences of modernization.
Episodes
1. The City
June 1, 2005
A pioneering short documentary film from 1939 that contrasts the problems of the contemporary urban environment with the superior social and physical conditions that can be provided in a planned community.
2. For The Living
June 1, 2005
Improvement of living conditions in 1940s New York City through the construction of public housing. Though ultimately a plug for the New York City Housing Authority, this film begins as a "story about a city -- this city."
3. Cities How They Grow
June 1, 2005
A study of our increasing urban population. Departing from the usual statistics and the sociological problems which are a result of the cities' growth, we learn that by observing what the workers of the city do, we can find out why the city grew. Producer: Encyclopaedia Britannica Films. Length: 00:09:08. Audio: Mono. Color: BLACK & WHITE.
4. New Neighbor
June 1, 2005
Building a steel mill from scratch and a city for its workers (Levittown, Pa.). Producer: Jam Handy Organization. Sponsor: U.S. Steel Co. Year: 1953. Length: 00:24:51. Audio: Mono. Color: BLACK & WHITE.
5. The Dynamic American City
June 1, 2005
Advocates urban redevelopment and renewal, 1950s-style. Supports many planning strategies which are criticized today: the destruction of "blighted" neighborhoods in the name of progress, autocentric planning and construction, and suburban sprawl. Producer: Baskaw (Frederick J). Sponsor: Chamber of Commerce of the United States.
6. Community Growth: Crisis & Challenge
June 1, 2005
Home builders decry unplanned suburban sprawl, 1950s-style. Sponsor: Urban Land Institute, National Association of Home Builders. Year: 1959. Length: 00:16:01. Audio: Mono. Color.