Sprawling From Grace, Driven To Madness

On DVD April 21st, pre-order now at the Cinema Libre Studio Store http://store.cinemalibrestore.com/sprawlingfromgrace.html

This feature length documentary explores the ravages of American suburban sprawl, what America has lost as a result, and the perils we face if we don't change the way in which we build our cities. Americans have been lulled into a false sense of security by cheap energy that has allowed us to spread endlessly into our landscape. We are trapped behind the wheels of our automobiles. With the demand for oil outpacing the Earth's ability to supply it, this suburban living arrangement will fail. America's love affair with the automobile is straining and, like Nero, we are fiddling away, confident that tomorrow will be as promising as today. The wake up call is coming.

Featured in this film are, Former Massechusettes Governor Michael Dukakis, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Famed Urban Designer Peter Calthorpe, Author of the Long Emergency James Howard Kunstler, and Former President Bill Clinton.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• peak-oil
• energy-crisis
• resource-wars
• iraq
• oil-shortage
• oil
• natural-gas
• alternative-energy
• suburb
• suburban-sprawl
• bill-clinton
• james-kunstler
• mark-udall
• randy-udall
• new-urbanism
• public-transportation
• jan-gehl
• gas-prices
• gas
• gasoline
• petroleum-supply
• oil-supply
• tar-sands
• biofuels
• bio-diesel
• enthanol

[chrsunderwood4]

increasing. To escape this, people will only build other suburbs.  Welcome to ugly Concrete Jungle.

[TheEMotionPictures]

@chrsunderwood4 Let's hope there's an opportunity to re-envision the suburbs. Build some mixed use communities on to of all that impermeable asphalt.

[TheEMotionPictures]

It's all about looking at these suburban wastelands with a new vision that connects them to the district, and provides long term economic viability. When I travel to europe I'm always struck by the maturation of their communities and how the architectural and urban planning value is appreciated, because it's worth saving. Plastic barbie strip malls have no long term value and contribute little to the thought of community spaces. Watch the whole film on Net flix.

Best,

DME

Producer/Director

[TheEMotionPictures]

The good news is, all those ticky tacky barbie plastic strip malls have an economic viability of about 15 years. The big box interchange centers built around highway off ramps and on ramps are about the same. I see these as opportunities to turn acres of impermeable asphalt into vibrant mixed use town centers. I'm working on developing a 35 acre lot that was once a Walmart and other big box retail. The trick is to put the housing where the economic retail activity is.

[TheEMotionPictures]

One of the things I've pondered is the fact that the suburbs are here. We've built them out, and squandered not only our resources of fertile farmland and natural habitats, but also the materials it takes to build the infrastructure of this inefficient pattern of building cities.

[pavilionking06]

My neighborhood in Portland, Oregon was shown (kids playing in the fountain) and the MAX train was shown. Glad to live in Portland where we have a plethora of mass transit options, not forgetting our extremely extensive bicycle lanes, smaller city blocks for easy walking, and urban growth boundary that keeps things close and convenient.

[TheEMotionPictures]

Portland is a great city that really understands living at a human scale. It was a joy to film in Portland and it gave a great backdrop to show how exciting it can be to live in a city that cares about the things you mentioned. Sprawling From Grace will be airing on CNBC on April 20th at 10:00 pm Eastern Time.

[smit1807]

As a person that has lived in suburbia and the central city, I have to say that city life is MUCH more superior to living in the suburbs: MUCH more culture, diversity, tolerant and liberal (free) ideas, healthy lifestyles through encouraged walking, biking, and P.T. use (there are actually sidewalks and bus stops in the city, lol), competent road systems, true choice in food...The list goes on and ON...The city is Way more orderly. Suburbia is just organized chaos. It isn't sustainable.

[sonofdrella09]

How is the elete NOT profiting from suburbia? The only way ti get around is on a car(costs $), that gess what-eats gas(costs $0! And then there are all those fast food (no farmer's rights) restaurants that do not require you to get out of the car inorder to get your HFCS fix? And then you can go back to your subprime mortgage castle (forclosure).

Everything in suburbia is toataly plastic, artificial and commercial.

Suburbs= human pig stys.

[Turtleproof]

This hits the jackpot.

Where we work is separated from where we live, where we play, where we love, where we explore. When we are forced to COMMUTE 45 minutes to get groceries, we are living in hellish isolation from the people and things that we need to be happy.

Commuting to work shouldn't be allowed, commuting to get BASIC NECESSITIES is completely insane.

[xxx2397]

@Scottit Most DON'T prefer suburbia, unless you mean most baby boomers

[xxx2397]

@manco82 This is exactly why we need to FIX the cities instead of running away from the problem

[xxx2397]

@manco82 When they say new urbanism, they don't mean building Manhattan, they just mean not sprawling onto the wilderness and farms

[manco82]

@smit1807 Yeah cities are fantastic except for the dirty air, noise and crime.

[manco82]

insanity is trying to build Manhattan in Arizona.

[chrsunderwood4]

it was a relatively peaceful, happy place, but in the 1980's, after twenty years or so, it began its decline into a ghetto where banks are robbed, cars are stolen, and women are raped. Suburbia is a self-consuming problem; originally, people fled from big cities to escape rising property taxes or to enroll their kids in decent public schools. Now, due to a false sense of safety, living, and better education, which one can receive more of among the various cultures of a city, taxes are

[chrsunderwood4]

To Hell with suburbia. These "communities" in which people talk behind the backs of their neighbors and look down on minorities or anything different than themselves are the results of laziness. It is far easier to maul nature and construct new tract houses than to repair and restore homes in cities. The metro Atlanta area, for example, has grown in population recently, but the cities have shrunk. Riverdale is a perfect example of the unsustainability of Suburbia; when it was first erected,