BACK FROM THE BRINK: SAVING AMERICAN CITIES BY DESIGN - VIDEOTAPE

This one-hour television program was created by the American Architectural Foundation to demonstrate to a national audience that the problems of America's cities can be addressed - by design. The program tells how three American cities have revitalized themselves using architecture and planning as tools for restoring a sense of community, improving livability, and enhancing economic viability. The program focuses on elements common to the three cities (Portland, Suisun City, and Chattanooga), namely: a downtown-first strategy; active public involvement in design and planning; aggressive and innovative public-private redevelopment strategies, strong public sectors willing to provide the civic infrastructure necessary to ensure livability, and the creation of vibrant urban environments strong at their hearts and reconnected to their histories and cultural identities. The program opens with the challenges of American cities; part 1 discusses the City of Portland, Oregon, in terms of the elements of livability and community, and the downtown first strategy; part 2 discusses Suisun City, California, highlighting the power of design and planning to restore community and guide development, the public sector's lead, and the creative approaches to municipal financing and small business development; part 3 discusses the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee, emphasizing the importance of community development, the need to create new institutions, the importance of public/private partnerships, and the ability of public/civic projects to stimulate private development and revitalization; part 4 discusses the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, pointing out the value of a regional approach, transit as a tool for managing growth, and designing new models for suburban development that enhance community. The conclusion highlights the principles of revitalization

• Supplemental Notes:
  • The videotape was produced by GVI, Washington, DC, and created by Fry Communications, Arlington, VA.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Architectural Foundation

  1735 New York Avenue, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20006-5292

  Federal Transit Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 1996

Language

• English

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: City planning; Communities; Livability; Public private partnerships; Quality of life; Redevelopment; Regional development; Urban development
• Uncontrolled Terms: Revitalization
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00724284
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Federal Transit Administration
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 3 1996 12:00AM