The 2013 documentary The Human Scale explores how our processes of urbanization, particularly since 1960, have had major consequences at the human scale, in terms of community, connection, and quality of life. To express this, the movie visits several cities in different parts of the world that each highlight something lost from urbanization.
Figure 1. Movie Poster for The Human Scale. Image Source: IMDB; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2414454/mediaviewer/rm1139254017/
This documentary shows how different parts of the world have arrived at the conclusion that it may be worthwhile complicating the markedly capitalistic mode of living and, depending on the circumstances that preempted this conclusion, illustrates the moves made in response to these notions. Interrogating why there is growing energy against our modern way of life relies heavily on what the price of convenience, luxury, possession, and other forms of capital accumulation has had on our social network and connectivity to those around us. In essence, the world we have created and still create through capitalism is not innately made to serve the totality of our needs as humans. In this, modernity could be seen as a movement that is not concerned with humanity or a movement predicated on removing people from their natural state of being. This documentary does a great job of revealing these issues but also offering reassurance that we still have time to change and positioning planners and other urbanists are the arbiters of this change moving forward. Because of this, the documentary has an ironic optimistic tone, as a planner, because it entails a big problem that is also localized enough to be tangible in practice.
All in all, The Human Scale was successful in alluding to issues within cities that have historically been ignored in favour of the push for urban capitalism. With its several case studies, it is very clearly grounded in experience and accounts for regional differences in the debate quite fluidly. As far as drawbacks, its vision is rather idealistic. Embracing the human scale makes sense from our current position, but probably will come with its own drawbacks. Nonetheless, I would recommend this movie for any burgeoning urbanists or any city dwellers who wants to talk to their neighbor.