Lewis Mumford on the city

This short documentary is part of a series hosted by American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic Lewis Mumford, who was particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture.

Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 1: The City: Heaven and Hell

This episode presents an outline of the opposed natures—creative and destructive—of the city throughout history. In this film, the focus is on the elements that created the first cities about 5000 years ago, and the forces that now threaten our "most precious collective invention."

https://www.nfb.ca/film/lewis_mumford_on_the_city_part_1/

Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 2: The City: Cars or People?

This episode presents a study of an old but still-growing problem: how to ensure the city is accessible to all without allowing cars to make it congested and uninhabitable.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/lewis_mumford_on_the_city_part_2/

Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 3: The City and Its Region

This episode explores the tension and mutual dependence of urban and rural areas. History shows that cities thrive best when they live in harmony and balance with the countryside. How can this balance be maintained or restored in sprawling metropolitan regions? The film is a revealing portrait of the discourses of urbanization that were circulating in the middle of the 20th century, including the development of what we know today as the suburbs.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/lewis_mumford_on_the_city_part_3/

Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 4: The Heart of the City

This episode presents a study of the growing sterility, dullness and congestion that is destroying the vitality, variety and breadth that once made cities physically attractive and humanly creative.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/lewis_mumford_on_the_city_part_4/

Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 5: The City as Man＇s Home

In this episode, Mumford meditates on the “ugly and savagely debased surroundings” of the industrial cities that sprung up in formerly empty rural areas during the Industrial Revolution. Mumford juxtaposes the squalor of the working poor with the relative safety and security of the wealthy. He asks what can be done to address “the spirit of social hopelessness” that thrives in the overcrowded slums where a city’s poorest residents live.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/lewis_mumford_on_the_city_part_5/

Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 6: The City and the Future

In this episode, Mumford considers the “loss of vitality” that he perceives in contemporary cities that have become crowded and resulted in suburban flight. “The overfilled urban container has burst,” he proclaims. What will become of the faceless, formless contemporary city? This mid-20th century film is a prescient look at today’s urban landscapes.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/lewis_mumford_on_the_city_part_6/