Hello There,

I view the world through a new lens after seeing a great documentary.  I feel informed and have a renewed perspective when approaching my engineering work.  My background is in structural engineering and bridge design.  So, I recently watched episodes of "Abstract:  The Art of Design" on Netflix.  This documentary series takes an in-depth look into the world of distinguished designers in various subject matters, including architecture, photography, and even costume design. 

I am on a search for another intriguing documentary to absorb...

What titles on your doc watchlist would you recommend?

Thank you,
Jameelah

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Jameelah Ingram, P.E., M.ASCE
Washington, D.C.
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Documentaries - One I really recommend is The Human Scale, The Human Scale, a documentary on urban planning (& transportation infrastructure), gone awry.  I saw it at a Sustainability Forum in Madison, WI several years ago. It is about a Danish architect and professor whose studied cities and found trends that have led to poor outcomes, and ideas and trends on how to make cities more friendly and livable.  Complicated and yet so simple.

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Brett Emmons P.E., M.ASCE
CEO, EOR
St. Paul, MN
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I highly recommend "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth."  It covers the history of a housing project in St. Louis.  It pretty much answers the question: Why don't we just offer free/affordable basic housing to those in need?  It is a case study in architecture, urban renewal, and the sociology impacts of design.

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Chad Morrison P.E., M.ASCE
Professional Engineer
Greenville RI
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-16-2020 09:01 AM
From: Brett Emmons
Subject: Your Documentary Watchlist (while sheltering at home)?

Documentaries - One I really recommend is The Human Scale, The Human Scale, a documentary on urban planning (& transportation infrastructure), gone awry.  I saw it at a Sustainability Forum in Madison, WI several years ago. It is about a Danish architect and professor whose studied cities and found trends that have led to poor outcomes, and ideas and trends on how to make cities more friendly and livable.  Complicated and yet so simple.

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Brett Emmons P.E., M.ASCE
CEO, EOR
St. Paul, MN
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This is a great thread. I've seen some of the Abstract series and now I have two new ones to check out so thanks for sharing.

I recommend "The Invisible City: Houston's Housing Crisis" by James Blue. The concept is really interesting - it was filmed as a six part interactive public television series in Houston in the late 70's. They solicited extensive public interviews, questions and polls to document the housing crisis from many people's perspectives, focusing on historically black neighborhoods, immigrant neighborhoods and developing suburbs. All parts are free on youtube.

For different topic - Quincy Jones documentary on netflix. The man's a living legend.

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Itay Porat
Houston TX
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Hello Jameelah,

Have you heard of the sequels to The Matrix, the Wachowski's exploration of the possibility that we're all living in a simulation? The two movies that deliberately tore down what made the first one amazing with the prospects of choice and freedom being illusions, and resistance to a higher order being part of what entraps people in it?

That's what happens in Michael Moore's most recent documentary, Planet of the Humans. Here, the so-called red pill of relying on renewable energy today is exposed for how effective it really is in daily impacts on the climate, and what many activists and promoters respectively believe and have to say just so more people think renewable energy is enough to tackle climate change.

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Alexander Granato S.M.ASCE
Student
Bexley OH
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