Urbanized

Urbanized (2011) — watch online on iFILM. Gary Hustwit's documentary on the design of cities and who gets to make decisions about the places where people live. The third film in his design trilogy, following Helvetica (2007) and Objectified (2009).

Hustwit travels from Lagos to Bogotá, from Shanghai to Detroit, pressing persistent questions about housing, public space, and mobility. Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas, Jan Gehl, Alejandro Aravena, and Oscar Niemeyer each answer them differently — which is part of the point.

Of the three films, this is the most overtly political. The camera isn't celebrating design objects; it's tracking the gap between who shapes cities and who actually lives in them. Stream Urbanized (2011) online on iFILM.