This witty and original film is about the open spaces of cities and why some of them work for people while others don't. Beginning at New York's Seagram Plaza, one of the most used open areas in the city, the film proceeds to analyze why this space is so popular and how other urban oases, both in New York and elsewhere, measure up. Based on direct observation of what people actually do, the film presents a remarkably engaging and informative tour of the urban landscape and looks at how it can be made more hospitable to those who live in it.
Direction
Whyte's deadpan narration is accidental ASMR.
Editing
Time-lapse humanity flows like visual poetry.
Director
William H. Whyte
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This obscure doc became sacred text for urban planners worldwide, directly shaping New York's 1980s zoning reforms and the design of Disney's Celebration, Florida.
Whyte's research team filmed over 16,000 hours of people-watching footage using early portable video equipment, essentially inventing the 'time-lapse sociology' method still used today.
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