FILM / VIDEO

CONTESTED STREETS: BREAKING NEW YORK CITY GRIDLOCK

Documentary / 2006 / 57 minutes
Directed by Stefan Schaefer

CONTESTED STREETS explores the history and culture of New York City streets from pre-automobile times to the present. This examination allows for an understanding of how the city-- though the most well served by mass transit in the United States-- has slowly relinquished what was a rich, multi-dimensional conception of the street as public space to a mindset that priorities the rapid movement of cars and trucks over al other functions.

Central to the story is a comparison of New York to what is experienced in London, Paris and Copenhagen. Interviews and footage shot in these cities showcase how limiting automobile use in recent years has improved air quality, minimized noise pollution and enriched commercial, recreational and community interaction. London’s congestion pricing scheme, Paris’ BRT (Bus Rapid transit and Copenhagen’s bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure are all examined in depth. New York City, though to many the most vibrant and dynamic city on Earth, still has lessons to learn from Old Europe.

Featuring interviews with Kenneth T. Jackson (Columbia), Mike Wallace (CUNY), Fred Kent (Project for Public Spaces), Majora Cater (Sustainable South Bronx), Kathryn S. Wylde (Partnership for NYC), Tim Tompkins (Times Square Alliance), Sam “Gridlock” Schwartz (former DOT First Deputy Commissioner), Paul Steely White (Transportation Alternatives), Jan Gehl (Architect/Urban Planner), Eric Britton (Ecoplan International/The Commons), Robert R Kiley (Transport for London), Patricia Brown (Central London Partnership), and others.

Thursday, November 9, at 5:30 p.m.
Nashville Civic Design Center
138 Second Avenue North Suite 106