Library
Filter
View
1-60 of 222
LAFD: Design For Disaster - The Story of the Bel Air Conflagration
This 1962 documentary film produced by the Los Angeles Fire Department, describes the historic Bel Air / Brentwood wildfire that started on November 5, 1961 in the Bel Air community of Los Angeles. Over the course of three days, the wind-driven fire destroyed 484 homes...
The Future Is Local: Bioregioning 101
The past century has been marked by the rise of globalization in every sense of the word - through production, culture, agriculture, consumption and more. This trend has brought great wealth and opportunities to many people - but what have we lost and forgotten through this...
All-Aboard for Free Public Transport
From utopia to reality: fare-free public transport in Brazil.
This Detroit Agrihood is Transforming its Community - Michigan Urban Farming Initiative Tour
A tour of MIUFI (Michigian Urban Farming Initiative) and interview with its manager - Quan Blunt.
50 Documentaries Inspiring the Transition From Empire to Earth Community
We are living in a time of profound transition, a moment when humanity must choose its path forward. The old systems—of empire, domination, and exploitation—are showing signs of weakness, and in their wake, we have the opportunity to build something far more life-affirming. A...
A Progressive Call to Arms: Laboratories of Democracy
The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Throughout the history of our nation, this amendment has...
Transforming Cities, Changing the System
The system is broken—so where do we start building a new one? Faced with interlocking ecological, economic, and political crises, local innovators are organizing at the city level to develop real foundations for systemic alternatives. 
Right to Housing and Its Relation to Democracy
Housing is absolutely essential to human flourishing. Without stable shelter, it all falls apart.~Matthew Desmond[1]The issue of housing is of fundamental importance that has a direct connection, among other basic rights, to democratic participation. Despite that (or because...
Closer to Home: Voices of Hope in a Time of Crisis
This 35-minute film is a united call for a new economy, delivered by those who have committed their lives to working for systemic change. 
The Power of Local: Community Solutions to Our Global Crisis
This 42-minute film is bursting with examples of exciting localization initiatives across the world. 
How This Car-Free Neighborhood Unlocks Sustainable Cities
Culdesac, a new car-free community in Tempe, Arizona, is the most Edenic urban space I have seen. Join me on a recent visit and conversation with its CEO Ryan Johnson—who explained how to unlock sustainability in the US and design our way out of the loneliness epidemic. This...
This is [Not] Who We Are
This Is [Not] Who We Are explores the gap between Boulder, Colorado's progressive self-image and the lived experiences of its small but resilient Black community. Boulder is emblematic of predominantly white communities that profess an inclusive ethic but live in a segregated...
It's Basic
When the Coronavirus Pandemic threw livelihoods into uncertainty and consequently spurred the creation of multiple direct government assistance programs, every American was given first-hand experience with the concept of Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI), an idea that has been...
From Citizens of Nations to Citizens of Cities
[C]itizens today no longer even approximate the high and eminently human standard of citizenship that was established in the Hellenic world—a meaning that must be recovered, as well as the personal and social training, or paideia, for producing citizens.~Murray...
How the US Property Tax System Robs The Poor to Pay For The Wealthy
Discover the shocking truth about a secret racket in America that's been hiding in plain sight for years; High-value homes are escaping their fair share of property taxes, burdening less wealthy neighbors and straining city budgets.
How To Build A Solarpunk City
"I believe our cities should belong to us. They should be cooperative, co-creative, ecological, and egalitarian spaces, by and for the people. We have so much untapped urban potential just waiting to be explored. Join me as we determine how to build a solarpunk...
Even Small Towns are Great Here (5 Years in the Netherlands)
We’ve lived in the Netherlands for 5 years now and we’ve been to a lot of small towns and cities in that time. The thing that surprised us the most is that there’s good urbanism pretty much everywhere. - Not Just Bikes
15-Minute Cities for Leftists
15-minute cities could be the solution to climate change and income inequality. Or they could just make everything worse. What we do know is that they probably aren't dystopian walled-cities. Let's explore what everyone is saying about 15-minute cities and start to work out...
We the Power | The Future of Energy is Community-Owned
A film about the citizen-led community-energy movement in Europe and the visionaries lighting the way. 
How to Turn Your Neighborhood into a Village
Permaculture instructor Andrew Millison journeys to Portland, Oregon to talk with architect Mark Lakeman, founder of Communitecture Architecture and the City Repair Project. Mark initiated a movement in Portland to transform the homogenous neighborhoods of the city into...
How to Bring Back Front Yard Businesses
How do we add mixed uses in single detached neighborhoods? People have some ideas… - About Here
How 15-Minute Cities Are Shaking Up the World
In this video, we explore the concept of the 15-minute city, debunking common misconceptions and conspiracy theories surrounding it. We'll reframe the discussion to focus on the true intentions behind the idea, emphasizing its potential to create sustainable and thriving...
The Most Sustainable City In America
Over the last few weeks, I reached out to sustainability experts around the world, crunched a bunch of numbers, and asked all of you for help finding the most sustainable city in America. Here's what I learned. - Distilled
A Quiet Revolution: Seed Sovereignty in the City
Londoners are rising to the challenges of climate change, food poverty, entrenched inequality and our nation’s mental and physical health crises by reviving one of the oldest human activities of all- sowing, saving and sharing seeds.
Beautiful No Dig Permaculture Kitchen Garden
This video is of Tim and Maddy Harland's beautiful no-dig permaculture kitchen garden in Hapmshire UK. Tim and Maddy are the founders of the fantastic @PermacultureMagazine and have a tranquil vegetable garden, meadow and food forest at their home that has been maturing for...
Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud
Urban noise is a common problem, and the vast majority of it is created by motor vehicles. Noise is far too often dismissed as a minor nuisance, rather than the legitimate health issue that it is. The book "Curbing Traffic" has a chapter about the health impacts of noise...
The Orange Pill: There's Something Wrong With Suburbia
This video was filmed on an actual CRT monitor, in an actual pile of garbage, at the side of an actual stroad.
Why the Suburbs Are Terrible for Us (and the Planet)
In this video essay, I look at why the suburbs are so terrible for people and the planet. Specifically, I look at the racist history of the suburbs in the United States in order to understand how the suburbs came about. The suburbs have a dark history of white supremacy and...
When Trees Meet Buildings
Architects, engineers and developers are creating increasingly greener structures - and doing it in a more literal way than ever before.
Biophilic Design: The Architecture of Life
Biophilic Design is an innovative way of designing the places where we live, work, and learn. We need nature in a deep and fundamental fashion, but we have often designed our cities and suburbs in ways that both degrade the environment and alienate us from nature.
The Modern Eco Village | BedZED
The BedZED eco-village is a sustainable housing development based in London, UK. Going Green went to the eco-village to see both the green building design and the sustainable community.
Planet Local: A Quiet Revolution
Planet Local: A Quiet Revolution, a film by the international NGO Local Futures, shows a quiet and transformative revolution emerging worldwide.
Why We Won't Raise Our Kids in Suburbia
"Of all the reasons why we moved to the Netherlands, the independence of children is probably the most important one." 
Redefining Prosperity
The story of how a mining town recovered from its legacy of pollution and prospered by building community around the battle to save their beautiful river. Born in the California Gold Rush, Nevada City was once the scene of some of the most destructive environmental...
Hiding in the Walls
Hiding in the Walls captures the complicated and devastating story of Baltimore’s lead poisoning epidemic. It takes a deep dive into the origins of lead poisoning, the failures of local leadership to stop the problem, and ultimately how it came to be a dangerous part of daily...
Why Everywhere in the US is Starting to Look the Same
On the homogenization of American cities...
Forest Condominium is Ecosystem of 150 Trees, 60+ Apartments
With 150 trees sprouting across 5 floors of terraces, balconies, and roof gardens, apartment complex "25 Verde" in Italy rises like a giant treehouse, a forest-building ecosystem combining geothermal energy, water reuse, and natural cooling.
Going Circular
Imagine a future where we mimic the genius of nature—to re-calibrate the way humankind lives, breathes, builds—respecting the limits of our resources and transforming the modern world. Going Circular unlocks the secrets to circularity, an innovative concept that could save...
Why We Won't Raise Our Kids in Suburbia (and Moved to the Netherlands Instead)
I was always told, growing up, that the suburbs (of Canada) are a good place to raise children. But I've come to appreciate the importance of independence for the a child's development, something that's nearly impossible in today's car-dependent suburbs. It was pretty clear...
How 100% Clean Energy Could Power Our Cities and Towns
Grist built this tiny model town to show what it would look like if we tried to transition to 100% clean energy. In the real world, it’s even more difficult. Staff reporter Shannon Osaka wrote about what it really means when cities say they’re going ‘100 percent renewable.’
Why Do We Make Life So Hard? | Jon Jondai
Jon Jondai shares his life story of trying to find success in the city only to turn around and come back home to live a life of freedom. 
Detropia
Originally the birthplace of the middle class, Detroit is now on the brink of complete collapse. Loosing over 25% of it’s population and 50% of its manufacturing jobs over the past decade, Detroit is now in a state of emergency. Racial tension, globalization, lack of...
Seven European cities pilot solutions to be more circular
The Circular Economy Action Plan, adopted by the European Commission in 2020, is one of the cornerstones of the European Green Deal. The plan includes a series of measures to ensure that the resources used in the EU are kept in use for as long as possible. The final goal is...
Nobody Takes the Renewable Energy Transition Seriously
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Despite all the demands from climate activists, scientists, and even policy makers, hardly a single country is taking the shift to renewable energy seriously. Even countries and regions that claim to be...
Imagine a 100% Renewable New York City | Andrew Faust
Permaculture designer Andrew Faust presents a clear outline for achieving energy independence with 100% renewable technologies in the New York bioregion.
Scaling up Permaculture in the City | Andrew Faust
Learn how to become more regionally resilient with bioregional economics and ecological city design.
Who Owns the Future of California's Energy? Its Residents
For many homeowners, rooftop solar is a smart move. But what if you could get every home and business in your entire county to switch to renewables, all at once? This is essentially what’s happening in my state, California: a quiet revolution awkwardly named community choice...
The Sleeping Giant: A Localist Manifesto
Four-part video series on Paul Fenn, pioneer of the Community Choice Energy movement in the United States. Produced by Stuart Farmer. Directed by Yoni Goldstein. Written by Charles Schultz. Production Assistant is Sebastian Alvarez. Filmed on location at Local Power in...
Changing the Way We Think About Ecocities
The way we understand ecocities needs radical change in order to ensure a sustainable future, akin to our ancestors realising the earth was round.
Share This With Your Governor: 12 Ideas for How States Can Respond to the Covid-19 Crisis
Everyone knows that the three, multi-trillion-dollar stimulus bills passed by Congress fall way short.  For most local businesses—the lifeblood of our economy—these bills offer too little relief, too late.  I’m hopeful though that the states (and maybe, in some places...
A Green New Deal for Housing, Narrated by Ted Danson
A 2D animation on why a Green New Deal for housing can help tackle inequality and climate change, narrated by Ted Danson.
The Problem Is the Solution: How Permaculture-Designed Household Isolation Can Lead to Retrosuburbia
As the COVID-19 pandemic first exploded across our globalised world, I found myself unsure of priorities in this time of pivotal change, even though I had been tracking information about Wuhan since January. Not because I didn’t know that a global pandemic of this scale was...
Comparative Resilience: 8 Principles for Post-COVID Reconstruction
This past weekend, a bright Georgetown undergraduate asked me how I squared my passion for localization with the theory of comparative advantage. For economics newbies, he was referring to David Ricardo’s argument that every community should find one product to specialize in...
Next Gen Farming Without Soil and 90% Less Water
Aeroponics grows fruits and vegetables faster, cheaper and better. 
The Four Levels of Action | Will Grant
Each of us is empowered to engage in solutions in a way that is not stressful or overwhelming. It is through the sheer numbers of individuals doing their part that we will see massive positive changes on our planet! - 
Or Else Everybody Dies
An animated story of love, tragedy and the environment.
The Endless Growth Paradigm
These days, city living feels much more difficult than it used to be. It seems everyone has a ‘town planning’ issue or gripe. What’s yours? This animation explores why we need to break from a system of endless economic and population growth. Otherwise, our neighbourhoods will...
Planet Local Short Film Series - Part 6: Ecovillages & Networks for New Farmers
For young people not raised on the land, getting into farming can seem daunting. Even for people who have worked on farms before, it is easy to feel isolated and overwhelmed when it comes to starting a farm of one’s own.