Urbanized is a 2011 Gary Hustwit's film that looks at the issues are strategies behind urban design. The film explores urban design projects from around the world.
- Fifty percent of human population live in urban areas. This number is projected to increase to 75% in 20 years. Countries who manage this migration poorly will end up with many slums.
- Slums are areas without infrastructure such as plumbing, sewers and electricity. The highest risk of slums is health and sanitation.
- Supplying elegant housing can be affordable too. In the Chile region of Lo Barnechea, low income housing was enabled at $10,000 per unit in an otherwise extremely expensive area. By involving families in the design process, the builders provided partially finished units that families were happy with. The collaboration helped builders properly prioritize housing details such as installing bath tubs instead of water heaters, and allow residents to upgrade to water heaters on their own later.
- Bus-style subways costs 40 times less than underground subways and has the added benefit of flexibility. As the city grows and shifts, new dedicated bus lanes and terminals can be easily added. An example is the Transmilenio system in Bogota, Colombia.
- Human eyes can see 100m by 100m comfortably. Beyond 100m the ability to discern detail drops off dramatically. That is why most established plazas and squares in the old world are within the 100m by 100m size.