I just got a chance to see this powerful documentary on the changes taking place in Brooklyn. As a BK resident I’m deeply concerned about what is happening here, but this film is worth seeing even if you’re nowhere nearby, because the tragic suburbinisation of the American city is coming soon to a place near you.

The film outlines the way bad planning happens, and how quickly things can be turned around if people organize and apply a little pressure. Change is not the problem - great cities are always transient. Problems start when development takes place without any real participation from local people, without any consideration for the amenities people actually need or any regard for the culture and people crushed by poorly thought out redevelopment.

It’s no big surprise that this is happening, this is how most of the rest of the country is designed. The film reminded me of this great talk James Howard Kunsler gave at TED about how suburban sprawl happens:

As Kunstler puts it we should be designing inspired centers of civic life and the physical manifestation of the common good. Instead, he argues, what we have in America is a nation of places not worth caring about. I don’t want to see that happen to Brooklyn. The Some Place Like Home trailer is below, (if you want to know more, head over here, or visit Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn).