Urbanization

In class we have discussed urbanization, the process in which an increasing proportion of an entire population lives in the cities and suburbs of cities. Urbanization brings several challenges to society: how to balance inequality (measured by the Gini Index) and how to deal with issues of housing, mobility, public space, civic engagement, economic development, and environmental policy.
The documentary, Urbanized, addresses the issues of urbanization and how designers, planners, and architects are approaching city design. The documentary was created by Gary Hustwi, who also created Helvetica and Objectified (both films that I highly recommend.) View the preview of Urbanized below, or pay to stream or download the entire film:





Perhaps rather than focusing on the negative aspects of cities, we should change focus on the possibilities of cities. Cities become loud, dangerous, dirty places if we let them become that way. Proper planning and design can allow for the cities that we will likely live in (Over half the world’s population now lives in an urban area, and 75% will call a city home by 2050) can be invigorating, clean, and inspiring places.