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Urbanized is a documentary about the design of cities, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers. Over half the world’s population now lives in an urban area, and 75% will call a city home by 2050. But while some cities are experiencing explosive growth, others are shrinking. The challenges of balancing housing, mobility, public space, civic engagement, economic development, and environmental policy are fast becoming universal concerns. Yet much of the dialogue on these issues is disconnected from the public domain. Who is allowed to shape our cities, and how do they do it? Unlike many other fields of design, cities aren’t created by any one specialist or expert. There are many contributors to urban change, including ordinary citizens who can have a great impact improving the cities in which they live. By exploring a diverse range of urban design projects around the world, Urbanized frames a global discussion on the future of cities. Urbanized is the third part of Gary Hustwit’s design film trilogy, joining Helvetica and Objectified.

This is a special presentation with The Newport Architectural Forum and Sponsored by The Van Beuren Charitable Foundation. Some of the many groups that that will be participating in an informal cocktail party discussion that will follow the screening are Alliance for a Livable Newport, Aquidneck Island Planning Commission – Chris Witt, Aquidneck Land Trust – Ted Clement, Bike Newport – Bari George, City of Newport – Paige Bronk, Energy & Environment Commission – Doug Sabetti, Friends of the Waterfront – Jim Perrier, Newport Architectural Forum – Ross Cann, Newport Housing Authority – Jim Reed, Newport in Bloom – Nikki Vazquez, Newport Tree Society – Lilly Dick, RIPTA – Mark Therrien, Washington Square Roots – Liz Drayton

Run time: 85 mins
Directors: Gary Hustwit
Urbanized
This is a past event

...fascinating, idea-packed.... Urbanized survey[s] both the challenges and promises facing some of the world's important cities.... It is worth venturing out of your room, climbing on your bike or boarding a low-emissions bus and fighting your way through a crowd to see.

NY TIMES

...stylishly dives into the issues and tactics of shaping entire cities... Hustwit gorgeously enhances the talking-head commentaries of architects, policymakers, and other progressive thinkers with spatially clean, static-camera compositions...

VILLAGE VOICE

...a fast zoom out to the big picture: The colonies or hives in which we arrange, display and support our lives.

ROGER EBERT

Following 'Helvetica' (2007) and 'Objectified' (2009), filmmaker Gary Hustwit completes his trilogy for design geeks -- we know who we are -- with a lively if schematic overview of city planning at its best and not so best.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Brave and timely movie that manages to strike almost exactly the right tone. The more people who see this movie the better. And the more politicians who see it – and are persuaded to look beyond the vested interests in front of them – the more powerful a tool Urbanized will be.

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