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Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 5: The City as Man's Home

This short documentary is part of a series hosted by American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic Lewis Mumford, who was particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture. In this episode, Mumford meditates on the “ugly and savagely debased surroundings” of the industrial cities that sprung up in formerly empty rural areas during the Industrial Revolution. Mumford juxtaposes the squalor of the working poor with the relative safety and security of the wealthy. He asks what can be done to address “the spirit of social hopelessness” that thrives in the overcrowded slums where a city’s …
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This short documentary is part of a series hosted by American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic Lewis Mumford, who was particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture. In this episode, Mumford meditates on the “ugly and savagely debased surroundings” of the industrial cities that sprung up in formerly empty rural areas during the Industrial Revolution. Mumford juxtaposes the squalor of the working poor with the relative safety and security of the wealthy. He asks what can be done to address “the spirit of social hopelessness” that thrives in the overcrowded slums where a city’s poorest residents live.

Urbanism All subjects
  • director
    Mogens Gander
    Jacques Giraldeau
    Robert Humble
    Kirk Jones
    Ian MacNeill
    Terence Macartney-Filgate
    Reginald Morris
  • camera
    Mogens Gander
    Jacques Giraldeau
    Robert Humble
    Kirk Jones
    Ian MacNeill
    Terence Macartney-Filgate
    Reginald Morris
  • producer
    Ian MacNeill
  • script
    Ian MacNeill
  • executive producer
    Guy Glover
  • sound
    Joseph Champagne
    George Croll
    Ted Haley
  • editing
    David Mayerovitch
  • sound editing
    Kathleen Shannon
  • narrator
    Budd Knapp
  • music
    Robert Fleming
  • host
    Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 5: The City as Man's Home
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