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The Urban Studies Collection

By 2050, 7 out of every 10 people will live in a city — some 6.4 billion people according to the World Health Organization. THE URBAN STUDIES COLLECTION assembles over 40 essential films that explore the challenges facing cities around the world, and the creative solutions being developed to address those challenges. Filmmakers from around the world look at cities on every continent, providing a truly global perspective on urban life. THE URBAN STUDIES COLLECTION explores the key issues facing city-dwellers, including living space, livability, sustainability, crime, gentrification, politics, finance, sprawl, and the urban ecosystem.

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The Urban Studies Collection includes the following titles:

Beijing Besieged by Waste - imageBeijing Besieged by Waste

Wang Jiu-liang travels to more than 500 landfills, documenting Beijing's unholy cycle of consumption.

dGenerate Films | 2011 | 72 minutes | 10-12, college, Adult
Bombay, Our City - imageBombay, Our City

4 million slum dwellers - half of Bombay's population - must battle daily just to survive.

Icarus Films | 1985 | 57 minutes | 10-12, College, Adult
City Life - imageCity Life

Explores Sao Paolo in introduction to series examining the effects of globalization on people and cities.

Bullfrog Films | 2002 | 27 minutes | 7-12, College, Adult
The New Metropolis - Cracks in the Pavement - imageThe New Metropolis - Cracks in the Pavement

Two first suburban officials struggle to fix their crumbling infrastructure.

Bullfrog Films | 2009 | 26 minutes | 7-12, College, Adult
Crips and Bloods: Made in America - imageCrips and Bloods: Made in America

Chronicles the decades-long cycle of destruction and despair that defines modern gang culture in South LA.

Bullfrog Films | 2009 | 83 minutes | 10-12, College, Adult
Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story - imageCul de Sac: A Suburban War Story

An allegory for a working class suburb in decline, this film investigates the story of Shawn Nelson, who stole a tank and went on a rampage through the residential streets of Clairemont, CA.

Icarus Films | 2001 | 57 minutes | 10-12, College, Adult
Designing A Great Neighborhood - imageDesigning A Great Neighborhood

A model co-housing project, where future residents participate in the design of their own neighborhood.

Bullfrog Films | 2005 | 54 minutes | 10-12, College, Adult
Detropia - imageDetropia

Academy Award-shortlisted for Best Documentary, the film is a vivid portrait of Detroit, America's first major post-industrial city, as it struggles to deal with the consequences of a broken economic system.

Bullfrog Films | 2012 | 86 minutes | 10-12, College, Adults
Disorder - imageDisorder

Huang Weikai collects footage from a dozen amateur videographers and weaves them into a unique symphony of urban social dysfunction.

dGenerate Films | 2009 | 58 minutes | 10-12, College, Adult
Downtown Dream - imageDowntown Dream

Five people in a Rust Belt town struggle to reinvent their lives and their dreams in contemporary America.

Icarus Films | 2013 | 45 minutes | 8-12, COLLEGE, ADULT

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