same thing holds true for cities everywhere hello i'm arch moved the executive vice president of the national chamber an organization which is deeply in vitally interested in your problem we recognize the problems that your community faces and we know that you share them with hundreds of cities everywhere basically of course you want to make your city a better place in which to live because that's where your families your friends and your neighbors work and live now what's involved in making your city a better place well things like housing industrial development better streets and highways with special emphasis on parking and traffic conditions of course  better schools and playgrounds and parks a host of public facilities and services improving all these things adds up to a better town a better sense now i'd like to have you meet two million who are thoroughly acquainted with the problems your city faces they understand the trams and forces that created your problems and they're developing ways to help you solve them and this is read by a shock an outstanding and respected real estate consultant he has put together on film the story of that dynamic american city it's an important and impressive step it has meaning for you and your a city and this is jim steiner the manager of the national chambers construction and civic development department he and his staff are working every day on ways to meet the task of improving your city now for this motion picture shows graphically th trends and forces working constantly in all our towns and cities that's not yes i think it does i'm sure that you will see the exciting opportunity that is yes for your study to become better and you will see patterns and trends in this film which are mirrored in your own town or city perhaps most importantly you will see the need for understanding and organization to do the vital job of making your city better for the people who are your city so this matter of getting people to work together to make their city better is something that jim steiner has given a lot of thought and attention to jim and you and your staff in working out ways to help meet the needs of our dynamic american cities have you know we have and the result of a great deal of research and experience has been compressed into this book our urban development guide book that's just what it is by the way a guide book for you here are suggestions for organizing your manpower to do the job with emphasis on the fact that it is your job it's  local job this booklet is a good stepping off point to meet the problems you face in your town or city i mention it now so that you will know these problems can be met there are proven ways to make your city better why not have your chamber secure a copy of the urban development guidebook from the national chamber of commerce washington d c thank you jim thank you to fred by shell i think now we're ready to have you tell us about the challenge of the dynamic in new york stands an impressive statue of columbus a reminder that this is a new continent in the light of history america not so long ago as a continent of wilderness and open space excitement stirred in the hearts of a multitude of manners eyes turned toward the challenge of a new life now america is a land of mighty cities and much of our space has been transformed into urban density we see this on the east coast in a city like boston and we see the same density on the west coast in a city like san francisco practically all american cities rajin small have a similar pattern of density as we look closely we see that city lots are narrow here is a twenty four foot lot the average city lot is twenty feet laid out on straight streets in a gridiron pattern it is not uncommon to find miles of sixteen and a half foot lot and so we observe that the american city is a development of narrow lots this is the first point the american city is dense with a narrow lot pattern actually we can often find lots of narrows twelve and a half feet in observation than are a lot pattern of our cities it is important to recognize that on classes of property are included the word density has a long been associated with slums that we have forgotten in america the important truth that all the city people have lived in the narrow lot pattern including the well to do many of our finest city homes are to be found on  the second point to consider is the density was a way of life for all people and included every type of residential property a question of importance therefore is why did all city dwellers adjust their lives to narrow a lot the reason becomes apparent as we see our city stables this is tract of structure was built to shelter horses many stables still remain in our cities these are now converted into much sought after apartments not long ago however horses were moving in and out of this courtyard if we are alert we can often see a vestige of the horse and buggy era like the hitching post indeed we occasionally see old dobbin him self it is of the upper most important  for us to remember that throughout most of the history of civilization man has been dependent upon animals for transportation this then is the basic cause of urban density and the third important point man built densely because  horses having built densely on our own lot we created many interesting and particular properties here is a high rise apartment house on a twenty two foot lot rising on a horse and buggy lot such a structure is an interesting illustration of the problem of natural law use in another view we can see a peculiar situation surrounding a city resident this home is twenty feet wide a common city size and as we look above and of the sky we see what might well be described as a fine light an air shaft for the abutting properties but nevertheless this type of land improvement is far from ideal in terms of land use again however it reflects the continuing influence of the horse and buggy plan to illustrate the opposite extreme we view a twenty foot residence rising above it a budding structures such as seems adjust to the study poles of urban change a residence now completely surrounded by industry an extremely interesting observation is to be found at radio city the world's largest commercial development as we look to the ground we see a typical horse and buggy lot still remaining on one of the busy the radio city corners primitive horse and buggy plan and skyscrapers themselves are no exception the american city has been amazingly dynamic despite powerful building limitations on land  meanwhile forces arose that brought stimulating competition in land use the first impact was the generation in control of energy with the steam engine what a revolutionary power the steam engine brought the steam engine made possible for the first time in history a release from the bondage of density the commuter trains began to move from our cities as people began to respond to the allurement of open space out into the country the trains travelled as man found sometime after the steam engine the trolley car made its appearance and here again was a revolutionary impact on the city life from almost every american community the trolley car widen the horizon and moved out into rural space we have all the forgotten the rural trolleys with our quaint stations stopped we should not forget their influence on the land  we still have and urgently need rapid transit but the all time trolley has all but past with the horse finally came the staggering impulse of mass transportation the motor zation of our economy so new so powerful so revolutionary as this force that we have hardly been able to appraise its influence moreover its impact us truck every american community americans have been thrown into a state of amazing mobility with freeways for automobiles and musses crisscrossing in all directions not only autos and buses but also fast moving trucks of broad complete motor is asian mass transportation has accelerated the centralization of the cities everywhere and the rush to outlying areas it's often been so great that the congestion of the highway has become his mother some of the congestion of the city along with the motor is a sion of our economy came full  electrification a powerful complementary force that completed the revolution in land use now we were able to generate and send power all over the continent resulting in a profusion of mechanical servants for our homes and industries together the automobile and electricity have combined to put the entire continent into an amazing state of competitive change many of our farms in america are no longer rural and remote bulldozers have been active the streets are crisscrossing our open farmlands electric wires are bringing the convenience of electrical equipment everywhere and new homes are now measured in high level production figures millions of acres have been taken over for housing as a result of explosive expansion and still over from our cities this movement has been so general that it might well be said that the front to his conduct to every american community outlying residential growth has been so great that large stores have followed everywhere business properties have responded to residential inverters and the movement of automobiles the commitments that have been made have often been highly subdued anshul indicating strong confidence in the strength of shopping power in new suburban areas have seen the rural mail box where land might have been worth five hundred dollars or less per acre now worth fifty thousand dollars or more per acre with the announcement of a new shopping center made possible solely by the passing of automobiles that have brought a value never before possible it's startling how rapidly our leading chain stores have been settling in open rural space land recently a dozen or can now support a new hotel because of automobiles it is not uncommon to see a study trend of office building construction on our highways actually some of our office buildings are going to really remote settings such a location is truly revolutionary for office use and possible only because of the automobile even industrial plants are taking on a new look the most powerful competitive force of all is the new shopping center with its landscaping all summer park like beautiful restful in this respect new shopping centers of extent of the problem of build him downtown obsolescence surely the most competitive force of new shopping centers is abundant space for free parking at the very door about lying stores open spaces such a competitive tower with acres for parking and room two for trees and shrubs there is no denying the competitive strength of new outline the scene out of the city has remained dynamic in the face of powerful competitive forces we do not have to look far to know that it has new buildings or continually changing city skyline in city after city we can observe framework of substantial new structures against the narrow horse and buggy properties