6085 This okay film about the merits of urban sprawl, poopoos any meaning of the word "preservation" or "landmark building" to makeway for office buildings, shopping malls and of course, lots of parking lots. Introduced in the most bizarre way by representative of the "National Chamber, an organization deeply interested in your problens". This introduction is REALLY badly written, with "city" repeated like 50 times, somewhat inappropiately. From there, we get a little history of what makes a city grow, the film doesnt really kick in until the 2nd half where the narrator kicks in what makes cities great! No preservation needed here folks! Tear down old buildings! Make new parking lots! Spuzz 2003-09-10 16:10:22 2003-09-10 16:10:22 3 This movie reflects the "out with the old in with the new" attitude that prevailed during the 1950's and part of the 60's. Things like landmarks, old ornate Victorian design, and other things we have come to appreciate, cherish, and preserve nowadays were considered "old and ugly and obsolete" back then. Modern, streamlined designs were considered the way to go. The automobile was becoming ever popular and man strove to accommodate it. Flash forward to the present and it's kind of ironic how, decades later we have come to appreciate the older architecture and we now seek to preserve it. Over the decades we have learned that the automobile was not the godsend that it was once thought to be and, with the automobile came a plethora of problems, including pollution, climate change, dependence on oil, etc. Likewise, even some of the "efficient modern" buildings that replaced the "old, ugly and obsolete" structures in the 1950's have themselves become "old, ugly, and obsolete", many have even fallen to the wrecking ball themselves while some of the older buildings still remain. It's interesting how, sometimes we have to lose a chunk of the past before we come to appreciate the aesthetic beauty, charm, and value of what once was. Thank God not all was destroyed during this era of "out with the old" and many of our beautiful old structures still remain and are preserved to this day. Thankg God for landmark preservation. Appreciation comes with time. Skins222 2010-07-15 06:49:20 2010-07-15 06:49:20 4 2 3.50