(GEOFFREY) ONE TOWN WAS BUILT IN RECORD TIME... WHAT LEVITT DID WAS BRING ASSEMBLY LINE TECHNOLOGY TO THE PRODUCTION OF HOUSES.

(GEOFFREY) ANOTHER WAS DESIGNED BY AN IDEALIST...

HE WANTS TO ADVERTISE TO THE WORLD WHAT A COMMUNITY COULD BE, AND PHILADELPHIA IS THE CENTERPIECE OF IT.

(GEOFFREY) AND THIS TOWN... IS A VISION OF THE FUTURE...

THE PEARL NEIGHBORHOOD IN PORTLAND, I THINK, IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES THAT SORT OF DOES EVERYTHING RIGHT.

I'M GEOFFREY BAER.

IN THIS SHOW WE'LL DISCOVER THE STORIES OF 10 TOWNS THAT CHANGED AMERICA.

FROM AMERICA'S OLDEST TOWN... WELL HERE'S SOME EXAMPLES OF EARLY SPANISH ARTIFACTS.

(GEOFFREY) TO A BEACHFRONT RESORT, THAT TOOK ITS CUES FROM THE PAST... PEOPLE ALWAYS LOVED THE OLD TOWNS, BUT THEY NEVER THOUGHT THEY COULD BE BUILT AGAIN.

(GEOFFREY) FROM A SUBURB DESIGNED BY A MASTER OF SUSPENSE... AND HE KNOWS HOW TO MAKE SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU GO "UHHHH," OR MAKE YOU SAY "WHOAH!"

(GEOFFREY) TO A "WORKER'S HAVEN" BUILT BY A TITAN OF INDUSTRY... PULLMAN WAS A PHENOMENAL BUSINESSMAN.

WAS HE GREAT AT PROVIDING FOR HIS WORKERS?

HE DID FAIL THERE.

(GEOFFREY) WE'LL VISIT TRIUMPHS AND TRAGEDIES OF URBAN PLANNING... LIFE HERE MUST HAVE BEEN JUST AWFUL.

(GEOFFREY) AND SEE WHAT MAKES THESE INFLUENTIAL TOWNS TICK.

FIND OUT WHICH TOWNS MADE THE LIST... ...OF 10 TOWNS THAT CHANGED AMERICA.

NOW, LET'S VISIT 10 TOWNS THAT CHANGED AMERICA, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

STARTING WITH AMERICA'S OLDEST COLONIAL TOWN: ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA.

[MUSIC] IT MAY SEEM LIKE SOMETHING OF A TOURIST TRAP.

BUT LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER, AND YOU'LL SEE REMINDERS OF ITS PAST AS A SPANISH MILITARY SETTLEMENT.

[BOOM!]

[MUSIC] THE LAYOUT OF THE TOWN IS STILL GUIDED BY A FOUR CENTURIES-OLD SET OF SPANISH LAWS THAT GAVE US AMERICA'S FIRST URBAN PLAN, THE LAWS OF THE INDIES.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE LAW OF THE INDIES DID WAS SET UP THE LAYOUT FOR TOWNS, THAT THEY WOULD HAVE RECTANGULAR BLOCKS AND HAVE A PLAZA MAJOR OR A MAIN PLAZA OR TOWN SQUARE.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE A KIND OF OPERATING SYSTEM FOR CREATING NEW SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA BY THE SPANIARDS.

(GEOFFREY) THE LAWS OF THE INDIES AS THEY WERE KNOWN, WERE ISSUED BY KING PHILIP II OF SPAIN TO ANSWER STICKY QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW COLONISTS SHOULD SETTLE THE NEW WORLD.

I THINK WE WOULD DO THE SAME THING IF WE WENT TO MARS.

(GEOFFREY) THE 148 LAWS COVERED EVERYTHING FROM WHERE TO BUILD THE TOWN, TO THE WIDTH OF THE STREETS, TO THE PROPER SPOT FOR A MARKET.

TODAY NEW EVIDENCE IS SHOWING US JUST HOW IMPORTANT THESE LAWS WERE.

IT'S BEING UNEARTHED IN FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH PARK.

SO ST. AUGUSTINE IS REALLY THE HOME OF THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH?

SAINT AUGUSTINE IS THE HOME OF THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH PARK.

(GEOFFREY) IT'S NOT JUST THE HOME OF THE MYTHICAL FOUNTAIN.

NOW ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE LEARNED THIS IS WHERE ADMIRAL PEDRO MENENDEZ DE AVILES AND A FEW HUNDRED SPANISH SOLDIERS, PRIESTS AND ARTISANS FOUNDED A HASTILY BUILT MILITARY OUTPOST IN 1565, 8 YEARS BEFORE THE LAWS OF THE INDIES.

OH!

WHAT HAVE WE GOT HERE?

OH, WELL, HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF EARLY SPANISH ARTIFACTS.

THIS WAS JUST FOUND NOW?

THIS WAS JUST FOUND NOW ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SQUARE.

THAT'S A LEAD-GLAZED ARTIFACT, AND IT WAS MADE IN SPAIN.

LIFE HERE MUST HAVE BEEN JUST AWFUL.

IT WAS MORE OF AN ENCAMPMENT, A MILITARY ENCAMPMENT.

OVER THE EIGHT HUNDRED PEOPLE HERE ONLY TWENTY SIX WERE WOMEN.

(GEOFFREY) THEN CAME THE LAWS OF THE INDIES.

IT BROUGHT ORDER TO ST. AUGUSTINE-- IN WAYS YOU CAN STILL SEE TODAY.

LIKE IN THE PLAZA.

LAW 112 STATED: "THE PLAZA SHOULD BE "SQUARE OR RECTANGULAR... "AS THIS SHAPE IS BEST FOR FIESTAS IN WHICH HORSES ARE USED AND FOR ANY OTHER FIESTAS THAT SHOULD BE HELD."

THE PUBLIC SQUARE IS BOTH A SPACE FOR COLLECTIVE SOCIETY, BUT IT'S ALSO A SPACE TO KIND OF SHOW THE POWER OF WHOEVER BUILT THE CITY.

(GEOFFREY) AS PRESCRIBED BY THE LAWS OF THE INDIES, THE PROPERTY FACING THE SQUARE WAS ONLY USED FOR OFFICIAL BUILDINGS LIKE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

AFTER ALL, ONE OF THE MAIN GOALS OF THE SPANISH CROWN IN CREATING THIS SETTLEMENT WAS TO BRING CHRISTIANITY TO THE NATIVE AMERICANS.

IT'S HARD TO OVEREMPHASIZE HOW IMPORTANT CATHOLICISM WAS IN THE LIVES OF PEOPLE HERE.

(GEOFFREY) THE LAWS ALSO CALLED FOR NARROW STREETS, TO MAXIMIZE SHADE.

AND THEY'RE LAID OUT IN A PATTERN WE STILL USE TODAY: A GRID.

A GRID IS SIMPLE.

A GRID IS RATIONAL.

IT'S SOMETHING ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND.

IN A LOT OF EUROPEAN CITIES, WHICH ARE OLDER, YOU HAVE MUCH MORE ORGANIC MEDIEVAL BUILDING PATTERNS.

SO IN SOME WAYS THE NEW WORLD OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE MORE ORDERLY AND TO DO BETTER THAN THAT.

(GEOFFREY) SURPRISINGLY, THE LAWS CALLED FOR RESPECT FOR NATIVE PEOPLE AND THEIR LAND, A STRATEGY CALCULATED TO MAKE THE JOB OF RELIGIOUS CONVERSION EASIER.

THE TOWN, IN ITS EARLIEST DAYS WAS ACTUALLY WHAT WE WOULD CALL CULTURALLY DIVERSE OR ETHNICALLY DIVERSE.

OH YES, IT WAS MIXED RACE.

SO YOU IMMEDIATELY HAD NATIVE AMERICANS, EUROPEANS, AND AFRICANS LIVING IN ST. AUGUSTINE.

(GEOFFREY) THE TOWN PLAN THAT SERVED ST. AUGUSTINE SO WELL THROUGH THE CENTURIES WOULD SOON BE REPLICATED ACROSS THE NEW WORLD.

THE SPANISH EMPIRE APPLIED THE LAWS OF THE INDIES IN DOZENS OF CITIES.

AS THE FIRST PLANNED TOWN IN AMERICA, ST. AUGUSTINE SHOWED US THE VALUE OF URBAN PLANNING, TO BRING ORDER TO CITY LIFE.

YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF FIRSTS HERE.

THE OLDEST PUBLIC PLACE, THE OLDEST STREET.

OLDEST HOUSE.

WELL, I THINK ONCE YOU GET ONE FIRST YOU GET A LOT OF THEM, BECAUSE THERE'S JUST NOBODY ELSE AROUND TO COMPETE WITH YOU FOR A WHILE.

(GEOFFREY) PHILADELPHIA'S OLDEST STREET DOESN'T HAVE A LOT OF BREATHING ROOM.

ELFRETH'S ALLEY, FROM 1702, IS LINED WITH NARROW ROW HOUSES.

THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT WHAT PHILADELPHIA'S FOUNDER, WILLIAM PENN, HAD IN MIND.

HE HAD THIS IDEA, HE CALLED IT HIS GREAT GREEN COUNTRY TOWN AND HIS WHOLE IDEA WAS THAT THERE WOULD BE THESE ENORMOUS LOTS FOR EACH HOUSE AND THE HOUSE WOULD BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LOT, SO THERE'D BE ALL THIS SPACE AROUND THE HOUSE AND THERE WOULD BE ORCHARDS AND GARDENS AND ALL KINDS OF BEAUTIFUL OPEN SPACES.

WHAT PENN ENVISIONED FOR PHILADELPHIA IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD ALMOST CALL SUBURBAN TODAY.

(GEOFFREY) WILLIAM PENN WAS THE WAYWARD SON OF AN ENGLISH ADMIRAL, AND HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS LANDED HIM IN JAIL MORE THAN ONCE.

HE WAS A QUAKER, AND QUAKERS WERE PERSECUTED IN BRITAIN FOR REJECTING TRADITIONAL ENGLISH SOCIETY, AND REFUSING TO FIGHT IN THE KING'S ARMY.

BUT HERE IN THE COLONIES WILLIAM PENN HOPED TO FIND PEACE-- AND HE NAMED HIS CITY ACCORDINGLY.

"PHILADELPHIA" IS GREEK FOR "BROTHERLY LOVE."

THERE'S NO FORT IN THE PLAN, IT'S A PACIFIST COLONY.

WHAT HE WANTED TO SEE WAS THIS PEACEABLE KINGDOM.

(GEOFFREY) PENN'S PLAN WAS A SPACIOUS GRID, TWO MILES BY ONE MILE, COMPLETELY FILLING UP THE LAND BETWEEN THE CITY'S TWO RIVERS.

PENN GAVE HIS CITIZENS LARGE BLOCKS AND SOME OF THE WIDEST STREETS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

AND PENN WAS THE FIRST PLANNER TO NAME STREETS FOR TREES, AND NUMBERS.

IT'S GOING TO BE HEALTHY AND BEAUTIFUL AND THIS IS WHAT HE WANTS TO SHOW THE WORLD.

(GEOFFREY) BROAD AND HIGH STREETS THEY DIDN'T STICK TO THE PLAN.

THEY NEVER DID.

(GEOFFREY) YOU SEE, THERE WAS MONEY TO BE MADE ON THE DOCKS OF THE DELAWARE RIVER.

AND THE CITIZENS OF PHILADELPHIA PREFERRED TO LIVE CLOSE TO THE COMMERCE-- AND THEREFORE TO EACH OTHER.

IF THEY'RE IN PHILADELPHIA, THEY ALL WANT TO LIVE RIGHT ON THE WATERFRONT.

THEY'RE COMING TO PHILADELPHIA TO MAKE A LIVING.

IT'S SOMETIMES SAID THAT AMERICAN CITIES WERE MORE BUSINESSES THAN SOCIETIES.

(GEOFFREY) TO HAVE MORE HOUSES CLOSER TO THE RIVER RESIDENTS SUBDIVIDED PENN'S WIDE BLOCKS WITH CRAMPED ALLEYS.

THEY'RE INCREDIBLY NARROW.

SOME OF THEM A CAR CAN'T GO DOWN AND OTHERS IT'S JUST THE WIDTH OF A CAR.

(GEOFFREY) AND AS FOR PENN'S VISION OF A QUAKER MEETING HOUSE AT THE CENTER OF THE CITY, IT WAS BUILT...

BUT IT WAS DISMANTLED SOON AFTER.

THAT'S BECAUSE MOST QUAKERS DIDN'T LIKE THE MILE-LONG WALK TO GET THERE FROM THEIR HOMES.

WAS IT BROTHERLY?

BROTHERLY?

PHILADELPHIA WAS NEVER BROTHERLY.

(GEOFFREY) THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN PENN'S FAULT.

PENN SPENT ONLY FOUR YEARS IN PHILADELPHIA DURING THE FIRST 35 YEARS OF THE CITY'S EXISTENCE.

HE WAS VERY SADDENED BY WHAT HAPPENED RIGHT, IN PHILADELPHIA?

HE WAS.

(GEOFFREY) AS PHILADELPHIA BOOMED IN THE 19TH CENTURY, IT DID GROW TO FILL THE MASSIVE FOOTPRINT THAT PENN ENVISIONED.

FOUR OF HIS TOWN SQUARES BECAME THE PUBLIC GATHERING SPACES HE IMAGINED.

AND IN PLACE OF THE QUAKER MEETING HOUSE, PHILADELPHIA BUILT A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF MEETING HOUSE -- CITY HALL.

AT ITS TOP STANDS A STATUE OF MR. PENN HIMSELF.

PHILADELPHIA HAS ONE OF THE STRONGEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE GRIDS OF ANY CITY IN THE WORLD BECAUSE OF CITY HALL.

THIS INCREDIBLE, AMAZING BUILDING THAT IS BOTH THE SYMBOLIC AND THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL CENTER.

WHAT WONDERFUL SYMBOLISM THAT IS.

YOU CAN'T ASK FOR MORE.

(GEOFFREY) THOUGH WILLIAM PENN DIDN'T LIVE TO SEE IT, HIS IDEALISTIC TOWN PLAN WOULD PROVE REMARKABLY INFLUENTIAL.

IN THE CENTURY THAT FOLLOWED, OTHER AMERICAN PLANNERS WOULD COPY PENN'S PLAN FOR A CITY BISECTED BY BROAD STREETS, PUNCTUATED BY PUBLIC SQUARES AND BUILT ON A GRID.

WHEN THE FIRST BLOCKS WERE LAID OUT IN THIS MORMON TOWN IN 1847, THE MAN WHO HAD PLANNED IT WAS LONG DEAD.

JOSEPH SMITH DESIGNED A WAY TO MOBILIZE HIS PEOPLE AND LAY OUT IN A PHYSICAL, IN A SOCIAL, IN A SPIRITUAL SENSE TOWNS THAT WOULD BE DEDICATED TOWARDS GOD.

(GEOFFREY) JOSEPH SMITH HAD STARTED THE MORMON RELIGION IN NEW YORK STATE, WHERE HIS "BOOK OF MORMON" WAS PUBLISHED IN 1830.

SOON AFTER, SMITH CREATED A LESS FAMOUS DOCUMENT: THE PLAT OF THE CITY OF ZION, A PLAN FOR A ONE SQUARE MILE AGRARIAN CITY OF 30,000 URBAN FARMERS.

IT WAS A SIMPLE, REPETITIVE GRID.

SMITH HOPED TO CARRY OUT HIS PLAN ON THE TRUE SITE OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN.

HE IDENTIFIED A LOCATION IN THE MID-WEST THAT HE THOUGHT WAS THE LOCATION OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN.

(GEOFFREY) INSTEAD, SMITH WAS MURDERED, AND THE MORMONS HEADED WEST UNTIL THEY ARRIVED NEAR A GREAT SALT LAKE IN DISPUTED MEXICAN TERRITORY.

HERE, SMITH'S SUCCESSOR BRIGHAM YOUNG COULD SAFELY LAY OUT A CITY ACCORDING TO THE PLAT OF THE CITY OF ZION.

IT WAS A TOWN LAID OUT ALONG THE LINES OF THE CARDINAL POINTS OF THE COMPASS: NORTH, WEST, EAST, SOUTH.

IT HAD A REALLY STRONG CENTER WITH A CENTRAL TOWN SQUARE AND IN THAT TOWN SQUARE THERE SHOULD BE ONE OR MULTIPLE TEMPLES OR MEETING HOUSES.

(GEOFFREY) SMITH'S PLAT CALLED FOR WILDLY OVERSIZED BLOCKS...

THE BLOCKS WERE TYPICALLY TEN ACRES.

(GEOFFREY) ..SO THAT EACH FAMILY RECEIVED ONE HALF ACRE FOR A HOME, ORCHARD AND VEGETABLE GARDEN.

TODAY, A LOCAL HERITAGE PARK SHOWS WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE IN THE EARLY DAYS OF SALT LAKE CITY.

THESE BIG BLOCKS WOULD HAVE BEEN FILLED WITH LITTLE FARMSTEADS.

RIGHT.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A SELF-SUFFICIENT FUNCTIONING HOMESTEAD FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL FARMER, BUT THEY WERE RIGHT NEXT TO ANOTHER FAMILY DOING THE SAME THING, AND SO THE EMPHASIS WAS ON COMMUNITY.

(GEOFFREY) THE GARDENS AND ORCHARDS HAVE LONG SINCE GIVEN WAY TO THE LANDSCAPE OF URBAN AMERICA.

BUT SALT LAKE CITY STILL HAS THE IMMENSE BLOCKS AND ENORMOUS STREETS THAT JOSEPH SMITH CALLED FOR IN HIS PLAT.

THESE STREETS ARE REALLY WIDE, WHICH IS GREAT FOR A STREETCAR.

WHY ORIGINALLY WERE THE STREETS SO WIDE?

I THINK WHEN JOSEPH SMITH DESIGNED THE PLAT OF THE CITY OF ZION HIS VISION WAS REALLY LARGE.

AND HE BELIEVED THAT THESE WOULD BE VIBRANT CITIES WITH THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AND THAT THERE WOULD BE A LOT OF ACTIVITY IN ALL PARTS OF THE CITY.

(GEOFFREY) JOSEPH SMITH'S URBAN GRID WAS SAID TO BE DIVINELY INSPIRED, BUT IT MAY HAVE HAD A DOWN TO EARTH INSPIRATION AS WELL: A GRID PLANNED FOR THE WEST BY THOMAS JEFFERSON.

THE LAND ORDINANCE OF 1785, THE JEFFERSONIAN GRID, BASICALLY PROVIDED A KIND OF CODE FOR ORGANIZING WESTERN TERRITORIES INTO WHAT WERE CALLED TOWNSHIPS.

AND HE ENVISIONED THIS COUNTRY AS A RURAL AGRARIAN SOCIETY.

(GEOFFREY) AND JOSEPH SMITH'S OWN AGRARIAN UTOPIA WAS THE EXACT SAME SIZE AS THOMAS JEFFERSON'S ONE SQUARE MILE "SECTIONS."

THIS WOULD MAKE JOSEPH SMITH'S PLAN EASY TO REPLICATE.

JOSEPH SMITH BELIEVED THAT THIS WOULD BE A SUCCESSFUL ENTERPRISE AND THAT THEY WOULD SPREAD ACROSS THE AMERICAN WEST.

(GEOFFREY) HIS VISION WOULD BE CARRIED OUT IN THE CENTURY AFTER HIS DEATH, AS THE MORMONS BUILT HUNDREDS OF TOWNS ACROSS THE WEST... ALL BASED ON THE PLAN THAT WORKED SO WELL IN SALT LAKE CITY.

EVEN STILL SALT LAKE CITY HAS A VERY STRONG OPTIMISTIC VIEW ABOUT WHAT'S POSSIBLE WHEN GROUPS OF PEOPLE GET TOGETHER AND ORGANIZE AROUND A COMMON DREAM.

I THINK THAT'S ALSO THIS SORT OF HOPE THAT WE CAN LIVE OUR LIVES IN A BETTER WAY, AS MEMBERS OF COMMUNITIES.

(GEOFFREY) HE'S BEST KNOWN AS THE MASTERMIND BEHIND NEW YORK'S CENTRAL PARK BUT FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED ALSO BROUGHT HIS ARTISTRY TO ONE OF AMERICA'S FIRST PLANNED SUBURBS.

OLMSTED IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN AMERICAN HISTORY, PERIOD.

FULL STOP.

YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND AMERICA AT ALL WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE IDEAS OF OLMSTED.

SO IF YOU GOING TO HIRE SOMEBODY TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS, HE'S YOUR GO-TO GUY?

YOU'RE GOING TO THE BEST.

(GEOFFREY) OLMSTED SAID, "NO GREAT TOWN CAN LONG EXIST WITHOUT GREAT SUBURBS."

AND IN THE YEARS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, CHICAGO WAS POISED FOR GREATNESS, AS RAIL LINES AND SHIPPING ROUTES CONVERGED ON THE SHORES OF LAKE MICHIGAN.

BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER SIDE TO THE CITY'S RAPID INDUSTRIALIZATION.

IT SMELLED, IT WAS STILL RELATIVELY MUDDY.

AND SO THERE WAS A LOT OF GOOD REASON FOR PEOPLE TO SAY, "GEE!

I'D LIKE SOMETHING BETTER THAN THIS."

(GEOFFREY) A REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER SAW AN OPPORTUNITY.

IT WAS A COMPLETELY SPECULATIVE ENTERPRISE AND IN THAT SENSE IN TERMS OF CREATING A CITY, VERY AMERICAN IDEA.

(GEOFFREY) THE RIVERSIDE IMPROVEMENT COMPANY BOUGHT 1,600 ACRES OF FARMLAND NINE MILES WEST OF CHICAGO'S DOWNTOWN, STRATEGICALLY SITUATED ALONG A COMMUTER RAIL LINE.

THE RAILROAD WAS THE INTERSTATE OF ITS TIME, EXCEPT IT'S ACTUALLY BETTER THAN INTERSTATE IN A LOT OF WAYS.

(GEOFFREY) THE DEVELOPER TURNED TO OLMSTED AND HIS PARTNER, CALVERT VAUX.

THEIR SUCCESS AT CENTRAL PARK HAD MADE THEM THE TOAST OF THE NATION.

OLMSTED TOOK FIVE DAYS FROM HIS BUSY SCHEDULE TO INSPECT THE SITE IN 1868.

WHILE THE RAILROAD WAS ESSENTIAL TO RIVERSIDE'S EXISTENCE... NO RAILROAD, NO SUBURB.

(GEOFFREY) ...OLMSTED REALIZED IT WAS THE DES PLAINES RIVER THAT MADE THE SITE IDYLLIC.

THE RIVER IN RIVERSIDE IS PART OF THE BEAUTY OF THE PLACE.

IT'S NOT JUST SOME STRAIGHT CHANNEL, IT WOULD MEANDER, AND SO THAT GAVE A LOT OF POSSIBILITIES.

(GEOFFREY) CHICAGO, LIKE MOST OF AMERICA, WAS BUILT ON A RIGID GRID.

BUT OLMSTED HAD SOMETHING ELSE IN MIND FOR RIVERSIDE...

SO ONE OF THE MOST RADICAL THINGS HE DID WITH RIVERSIDE, WAS THAT HE BROKE ENTIRELY FROM THE JEFFERSONIAN GRID AND MADE A STREET BLOCK AND LOT PATTERN WHICH WAS CURVILINEAR AND INSPIRED BY THE CURVILINEAR NATURE OF THE DES PLAINES RIVER.. (GEOFFREY) OLMSTED'S MEANDERING ROADS INVITED VISITORS TO TAKE IN VIEWS THAT WERE "PICTURESQUE"-- A TYPE OF LANDSCAPE DESIGN THAT TRIED TO CAPTURE THE VARIETY OF THE NATURAL WORLD.

SO YOU GO AND THINGS WILL APPEAR AND DISAPPEAR AND PLAYING WITH LIGHT AND SHADOW.

IN SOME CASES A SURPRISE THAT YOU'LL SEE AND YOU'LL GO "AH" OR IN SOME CASES YOU'LL GO AROUND THAT CORNER AND GO "OH!"

AND THEN SMILE.

(GEOFFREY) JUST AS HE HAD DONE AT CENTRAL PARK, OLMSTED SUBMERGED THE ROADS JUST BELOW GRADE, CREATING UNBROKEN VISTAS.

THERE'S A CAR GOING BY RIGHT THERE, BUT WHEN THE CAR'S NOT THERE THE ROAD DISAPPEARS.

IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE IT'S ACTUALLY ROLLING ON THE GRASS.

SOMETIMES YOU HAVE A BERM THAT'S GOING UP, SO YOU DON'T SEE IT.

SO, WHAT YOU THEN SEE IS THIS CONTINUOUS EXPANSE OF GREEN.

(GEOFFREY) TO ENSURE THAT HOUSES DIDN'T CLUTTER THE LANDSCAPE, OLMSTED HAD STRICT GUIDELINES FOR ARCHITECTS.

HE INSISTED THAT THE HOUSES BE SET BACK FROM THE ROADS, CREATING THE GREAT ONUS OF AMERICAN LIFE, THE LAWN WHICH YOU HAVE TO MOW AND THERE WERE NO ELECTRIC MOWERS IN THOSE DAYS.

(TIM SAMUELSON) SO YOU HAVE THAT WIDE FRONT YARD, THEN SEAMLESSLY BLENDS WITH ALL OF THE NATURAL PARK AREA THAT'S AROUND IT, SO IT LOOKS LIKE ONE BIG PARK.

(GEOFFREY) AND RIVERSIDE'S BEAUTY ATTRACTED THE BEST ARCHITECTS OF THE TIME, LIKE FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

RIVERSIDE WAS A MASTERPIECE OF TOWN PLANNING, BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE A FINANCIAL FLOP.

THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE OF 1871, WHICH COULD BE SEEN FROM RIVERSIDE, AND A FINANCIAL PANIC WIPED OUT THE RIVERSIDE IMPROVEMENT COMPANY.

THE ONE THING THAT COULDN'T DISAPPEAR IS THE GOOD TRANSIT OUT ON THE TRAIN AND A BEAUTIFUL LOCATION AND PLENTY OF AVAILABLE LAND.

THIS PLACE GREW AND PROSPERED WHEN OTHER DEVELOPING SUBURBS AT THE SAME TIME DID NOT.

(GEOFFREY) RIVERSIDE POPULARIZED THE IDEA OF A SUBURBAN RETREAT COMPOSED OF WINDING STREETS AND NATURAL VISTAS.

YOU CAN GO TO DIFFERENT SUBURBS AND EVEN ONES THAT ARE BEING BUILT TODAY IN DEVELOPMENT AND YOU'LL FIND BITS OF THE DNA OF RIVERSIDE VERY MUCH A PART OF THEM.

(GEOFFREY) WE'RE VISITING 10 TOWNS THAT CHANGED AMERICA, IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

NOT FAR FROM OLMSTED'S IDYLLIC SUBURB, A CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY BUILT A PERFECT TOWN FOR HIS WORKERS... OR SO HE HOPED.

THIS TOWN'S FOUNDER WAS ALWAYS DRIVEN BY THE BOTTOM LINE.

GEORGE PULLMAN CREATED THE "PALACE" CAR, TRANSFORMING TRAIN TRAVEL FROM PUNISHING TO PAMPERING.

IN THE PROCESS HE BECAME ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL INDUSTRIALISTS OF THE 19TH CENTURY.

WE CAN THINK OF HIM AS KIND OF A STEVE JOBS, IN A CERTAIN WAY, RIGHT, FOR HIS ERA.

HE CREATED DEMAND FOR THIS LUXURY ITEM THAT SO MANY PEOPLE FELT WAS A NECESSITY.

(GEOFFREY) HIS "PALACE" CARS WERE SUCH A HIT THAT IN 1879 HE STARTED PLANNING A NEW FACTORY SOUTH OF CHICAGO THAT INCLUDED AN ADJACENT COMPANY TOWN WHICH HE NAMED FOR HIMSELF.

HE DESIGNED THE TOWN TO BE BOTH PROFITABLE TO HIS INVESTORS SO IT WOULD BE RUN AS A BUSINESS, BUT ALSO TO IN HIS EYES PERFECT CAPITALISM.

ANYTHING THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT NICER OR WAS AN AMENITY FOR YOU COULDN'T BE GIVEN TO YOU IF IT WAS GOING TO BE TO THE DETRIMENT OF THIS TOWN MAKING MONEY FOR THE INVESTORS IN THE COMPANY.

(GEOFFREY) PULLMAN WAS SURE HIS ATTRACTIVE, EFFICIENTLY-RUN TOWN WOULD DISCOURAGE WORKERS FROM STRIKING.

IT WAS A VERY, VERY BOLD AND BRAVE EXPERIMENT.

(GEOFFREY) PULLMAN'S ARCHITECT, TWENTY-SIX YEAR OLD SOLON S. BEMAN, TOOK THE BASIC IDEA OF A GRID AND OPENED IT UP WITH PARKS, IMPRESSIVE PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND DRAMATIC VIEWS.

THERE WERE CARRIAGE PATHS IN FRONT OF THESE BUILDINGS TO REALLY REINFORCE THAT IDEA OF THIS BEING A COUNTRY, NON URBAN ALTERNATIVE TO SORT OF THE CITY LIKE CHICAGO.

SOUNDS LIKE A PARADISE.

I THINK THAT THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE WOULD HAVE LIKED YOU TO HAVE SAID.

(GEOFFREY) THE DESIGN OF THE HOUSING WAS CAREFULLY PLANNED, TO SUIT THE STATUS OF WORKERS UP AND DOWN THE CORPORATE LADDER.

THERE'S SO MUCH VARIETY IN THE HOUSING.

CLOSER TO THE FACTORY WERE LARGE HOMES FOR THE MANAGERS, AND AT THE PERIPHERY WERE TENEMENT BLOCKS FOR UNSKILLED WORKERS.

AND THIS IS YOUR PART OF THE VILLAGE RIGHT HERE.

YES, COME ON IN.

SO THIS IS AN ORIGINAL PULLMAN HOME!

IT SURE IS!

WELCOME GEOFFREY.

AND YOU LIVE HERE!

I DO.

SO FOR A FACTORY WORKER IN THIS TIME THIS HOUSE WOULD HAVE BEEN A BIG STEP UP, RIGHT?

IT REALLY WOULD HAVE.

THESE HOMES WERE WARM.

THEY WERE LIT.

YOU COULD USE THE BATHROOM INSIDE AND YOU HAD A LOT MORE SPACE, AND THEN JUST A MUCH NICER FEELING HOME THAN YOU WOULD HAVE EXPECTED IN A TYPICAL URBAN WORKING CLASS NEIGHBORHOOD AT THE TIME.

SO WHEN YOU RENTED A HOUSE IN PULLMAN, YOU SIGNED A THIRTY-TWO PAGE LEASE?

YEAH, YOU DID.

THAT'S REALLY EXCESSIVE, ISN'T IT?

SO, NO NAILS IN THE WALLS, NO FLOWER PLANTINGS WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION, NO FRONT PORCH SITTING.

YOU COULDN'T SIT ON YOUR FRONT PORCH?

YOU COULDN'T, IN FACT, THERE WAS A DRESS CODE FOR LEAVING YOUR HOUSE.

(GEOFFREY) PULLMAN EVEN BUILT A TOWN CHURCH THAT HE RENTED OUT AT A PROFIT.

THE PRESS ACCUSED PULLMAN OF BEHAVING LIKE A FEUDAL LORD RULING AN INDUSTRIAL SERFDOM.

SO THERE'S KIND OF A FAMOUS QUOTE FROM A RESIDENT LIVING IN PULLMAN.

'WE LIVE IN A PULLMAN HOME AND HOUSES.

'WE GO TO WORK IN A PULLMAN FACTORY.

'WE WORSHIP IN A PULLMAN CHURCH.

AND SOMEDAY WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE AND GO TO A PULLMAN HELL.'

(GEOFFREY) IN 1893 A FINANCIAL PANIC BROUGHT TENSIONS TO A HEAD BETWEEN GEORGE PULLMAN AND HIS WORKERS.

WHAT HE DID IS HE CUT WORKER'S WAGES, BUT HE DIDN'T CUT THEIR RENTS.

(GEOFFREY) PULLMAN, THE TOWN BUILT TO AVOID LABOR UNREST SUDDENLY SAW IT RESIDENT-WORKERS WALK OUT ON STRIKE.

(JANE EVA BAXTER) THIS MADE IT A NATIONAL ISSUE BECAUSE RAILS WEREN'T MOVING AND ALSO BECAME A FEDERAL ISSUE BECAUSE THE MAIL WASN'T MOVING.

(GEOFFREY) PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND CALLED IN FEDERAL TROOPS TO END THE STANDOFF.

THE RESULT WAS ONE OF THE BLOODIEST STRIKES IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

THE STRIKE GOES UP TO THE ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT WHERE THEY DECIDE THAT THE COMPANY CANNOT CONTROL THE HOUSING FOR ITS WORKERS.

(GEOFFREY) PULLMAN CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEMISE OF FACTORY TOWNS IN AMERICA.

AS FOR GEORGE PULLMAN, THE LOSS OF HIS REPUTATION WAS DEVASTATING.

HE REALLY FELT AT THE TIME THAT HE WAS VERY MISUNDERSTOOD.

(GEOFFREY) HE DIED OF A HEART ATTACK THREE YEARS LATER.

HIS GRAVE WAS DESIGNED BY THE TOWN ARCHITECT, SOLON S. BEMAN.

[MUSIC] IT WAS THE DEPTHS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND A NOW-LEGENDARY FILM CALLED "THE CITY" FOCUSED ON A GROWING AMERICAN OBSESSION.

WHERE OLMSTED AND PULLMAN ONLY HAD TO CONTEND WITH HORSES AND TRAINS, NOW CITY PLANNERS HAD TO ACCOMMODATE MORE THAN 25 MILLION AUTOMOBILES.

WHEN THEY'RE IN THE CITY, IT'S CROWDED, IT'S LOUD IT'S TOO FAST PACED.

AND THEN THE CAMERA SHIFTS TO GREENBELT.

(TV VOICE) GREEN CITIES.

THEY'RE BUILT INTO THE COUNTRYSIDE, THEY'RE RINGED WITH TREES AND FIELDS AND GARDENS.

(GEOFFREY) THIS NEW, GREEN CITY WASN'T A DREAM OF THE FUTURE-- IT WAS RIGHT OUTSIDE WASHINGTON D.C. GREENBELT, MARYLAND WAS ONE OF THE FIRST ATTEMPTS TO PLAN A TOWN WITH THE CAR IN MIND.

SO YOU HAD PATHWAYS WHERE CHILDREN COULD RIDE THEIR BICYCLES UNINTERRUPTED, THE AREA WAS PLANNED TO BE SAFE AND INTEGRATED WITH NATURE, WITH THE CARS ON THE PERIPHERY.

(GEOFFREY) BUT THESE FORWARD-LOOKING FEATURES WERE NOT NEW.

THEY HAD BEEN DREAMED UP IN PRE-AUTOMOBILE BRITAIN.

(FRANCESCA AMMON) EBENEZER HOWARD WROTE GARDEN CITIES OF TOMORROW WHICH WAS THIS MANIFESTO, REALLY, FOR HOW CITIES SHOULD RELATE TO GREEN SPACE AND HOW THERE SHOULD BE THESE LITTLE GARDEN ENCLAVES LOCATED OUTSIDE THE CENTER CITY.

THERE WOULD BE INDUSTRY, THERE WOULD BE COMMERCE, THERE WOULD BE RESIDENCES ALL THERE.

(GEOFFREY) THE GARDEN CITY FOUND A CHAMPION HERE IN AMERICA IN GREENBELT'S PLANNING ADVISOR AND GUIDING FORCE, CLARENCE STEIN.

MOST PEOPLE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF CLARENCE STEIN.

SOME HAVE ARGUED THAT HE IS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARCHITECTS AND TOWN PLANNERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY, IF NOT THE MOST.

(GEOFFREY) STEIN BROUGHT THE GARDEN CITY'S 19TH CENTURY IDEAS INTO THE AGE OF THE AUTOMOBILE.

AND THAT CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT AND HIS NEW DEAL BRAIN TRUST.

THEY THOUGHT SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT WAS THE ANTIDOTE TO DEPRESSION-ERA SLUM-LADEN CITIES.

SO THEY ENLISTED STEIN'S HELP TO CREATE 9 SO-CALLED "GREEN BELT" TOWNS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

THE GOVERNMENT WOULD OWN THE TOWNS.

SO THIS IS A BIG DEAL.

THIS IS REALLY A HIGH POINT FOR THE REALIZATION OF AN IDEA, OF A SOCIALLY PLANNED, AND PHYSICALLY PLANNED SUBURBAN COMMUNITY.

(GEOFFREY) GREENBELT, MARYLAND WAS THE FIRST.

AND EVERYBODY WANTED IN.

NEARLY 6,000 PEOPLE APPLIED FOR FEWER THAN 900 HOMES.

ALL THE POTENTIAL RESIDENTS WERE INTERVIEWED AND SCREENED TO MAKE SURE THEY FIT CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC IDEALS OF MARRIED, FAMILIES, WHERE THE HUSBAND WORKED AND THE WIFE STAYED AT HOME AND THEY HAD TO EXHIBIT SOME SORT OF COMMUNAL SENSE THAT THEY WERE GOING TO BE INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY.

(GEOFFREY) HOUSING INCLUDED A MIX OF APARTMENTS, TOWNHOMES AND DUPLEXES DESIGNED IN THE NEW INTERNATIONAL STYLE.

HOMES TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THE STREETS... AND INSTEAD FACED A PEDESTRIAN'S PARADISE OF FOOTPATHS AND GREEN SPACE.

SO, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S THE BACK DOOR, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY THE FRONT DOOR.

THAT'S THE GARDEN SIDE.

SO YOU HAD SERVICE SIDE AND GARDEN SIDE.

THIS IS NOT THAT BIG.

THIS WAS PUBLIC HOUSING.

YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT.

SO PUBLIC HOUSING ISN'T SPACIOUS.

BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THIS WAS THE DEPRESSION AND PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE HUGE ACCUMULATIONS OF STUFF LIKE WE DO TODAY.

AND, A LOT OF THE ACTIVITIES IN GREENBELT TAKE PLACE OUTSIDE.

(GEOFFREY) GREENBELT'S RESIDENTS DISCOVERED THAT THE BUSY THROUGH-STREETS THAT HAD TERRORIZED THEM IN THE CITY...WERE COMPLETELY GONE.

THAT'S BECAUSE STEIN CREATED "SUPERBLOCKS" THAT REDUCED THE NUMBER OF INTERSECTIONS.

PEDESTRIANS WERE SEPARATED FROM CAR TRAFFIC BY FOOTPATHS... THAT PASSED UNDER THE STREETS.

(MARY CORBIN SIES) HERE IN ROOSEVELT CENTER, THIS WAS THE HUB OF OUR COMMUNITY.

WE HAD A SERIES OF COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATIONS.

WE HAD A LOVELY OUTDOOR SWIMMING POOL AND WE HAD THIS WONDERFUL THEATRE, THE GREENBELT MOVIE THEATRE WAS THE FIRST LARGE SCREEN IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY.

SO IT WAS A BIG DEAL.

(GEOFFREY) BUT THIS TOWN'S PROGRESSIVE AGENDA HAD ITS LIMITS.

THE TOWN PLAN ORIGINALLY INCLUDED A SECTION, ALBEIT SEPARATE, FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS...

BUT IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY THAT IDEA REALLY DIDN'T FLY LOCALLY.

AND SO IT WAS AN ALL-WHITE COMMUNITY UNTIL THE 1970S.

(GEOFFREY) DESPITE THE GOVERNMENT'S GRAND PLAN TO BUILD MANY OF THESE TOWNS, GREENBELT, MARYLAND WAS ONE OF ONLY THREE THAT WERE ACTUALLY BUILT.

THAT'S BECAUSE THE PRIVATE SECTOR EYED THE GOVERNMENT'S INVOLVEMENT IN THE HOUSING MARKET WARILY.

AND THE TOWN'S COOPERATIVES AROUSED SUSPICION DURING THE ANTI-COMMUNIST WAVE OF THE 1950S.

THE GOVERNMENT SOLD MOST OF GREENBELT TO A CITIZEN COOPERATIVE IN 1952.

BUT GREENBELT'S DESIGN WOULD GO ON TO PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCE COUNTLESS OTHER SUBURBS IN THE YEARS TO COME.

THE CUL-DE-SAC, THE GREEN WAYS, THE INTERIOR PARKS, THE PEDESTRIAN NETWORK SEPARATED FROM THE AUTOMOBILE -- THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE SEE REPEATED IN A SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENTS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND ALL OVER THE WORLD.

IT WAS AN EXCELLENT FORMULA.

(GEOFFREY) IT WENT ON FOR MILES.

HOUSE AFTER HOUSE, EACH LOOKING NEARLY IDENTICAL TO THE ONE BEFORE IT.

IF YOU TELL A KID TO DRAW A PICTURE OF A HOUSE, THEY KIND OF DRAW THIS.

YEAH, THEY KIND OF DO.

RIGHT, A LITTLE HOUSE WITH A FRONT LAWN AND A PICKET FENCE.

CAN THE LEVITT'S BE CREDITED WITH THAT?

CREDITED OR BLAMED.

(GEOFFREY) A FEW YEARS EARLIER, THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF BLIGHTED POTATO FIELDS ON LONG ISLAND HAD BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO COOKIE CUTTER LOTS BY THE LEVITTS.

THE LEVITTS WERE ABRAHAM LEVITT AND HIS SONS WILLIAM AND ALFRED.

BETWEEN 1947 AND 1951 THEY BUILT 17,447 HOUSES IN AN INSTANT SUBURB.

AND THEY CALLED IT LEVITTOWN.

PEOPLE WAITED ON LINE FOR HOURS TO TOUR THIS HOUSE, THIS AMAZING HOUSE.

AND OF COURSE THEY WERE SEDUCED AND MANY OF THEM BOUGHT.

(GEOFFREY) FOR AS LITTLE AS SIXTY NINE HUNDRED NINETY DOLLARS HOMEBUYERS COULD GET A FOOT IN THE DOOR.

PART OF THE GENIUS HERE WAS THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY CHEAPER THAN RENTING.

THESE HOUSES WERE CHEAPER THAN RENTING.

NONE OF THIS WOULD HAPPEN WITHOUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

(GEOFFREY) THE FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION AND VETERANS ADMINISTRATION BACKED GENEROUS MORTGAGES.

RETURNING VETERANS WHO HAD VERY LITTLE MONEY AFTER WORLD WAR II COULD GET A GOVERNMENT GUARANTEED MORTGAGE AND BUY A LITTLE HOUSE FOR THEIR FAMILY.

THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO MAKE A SPECIFIC KIND OF LIFESTYLE AND HOUSING POSSIBLE.

YEAH, RIGHT.

A MOM, A DAD, CHILDREN, NO GRANDPARENTS.

THESE ARE TOO SMALL TO HAVE MULTIGENERATIONAL.

IF WE THINK ABOUT THE EXTENDED PERIOD OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE WORLD WAR THERE IS GRAVE CONCERN ABOUT SOCIAL UNREST.

SO, THEY NEEDED TO MAINTAIN THE MIDDLE.

(GEOFFREY) THE GOVERNMENT-- AND THE LEVITTS-- WERE GIVING THOUSANDS OF RETURNING SOLDIERS A WAY OUT OF A DESPERATE HOUSING SHORTAGE.

GABRIELLE ESPERDY: TEN MILLION PEOPLE RELEASED FROM THE ARMED SERVICES, MEN AND WOMEN AFTER 1945, DOUBLING UP, TRIPLING UP, LIVING IN OVER-CROWDED CONDITIONS.

(GEOFFREY) WILLIAM LEVITT WAS HIMSELF A VETERAN.

HIS EXPERIENCES IN THE NAVY HAD UNIQUELY PREPARED HIM TO ADDRESS THE HOUSING CRISIS.

(GABRIELLE) WILLIAM J. LEVITT SERVED IN THE SEABEES, THE CONSTRUCTION BRIGADES.

AND WHAT THE CONSTRUCTION BRIGADES DID WAS TO GO AND BUILD INSTANT ARMY BASES.

THEY CLEARED THE JUNGLE.

(GEOFFREY) LT. LEVITT PUT THESE SKILLS TO WORK IN LEVITTOWN, WHERE THEY DEVISED A SYSTEM TO MASS PRODUCE HOUSES ON SITE USING PREFABRICATED PARTS.

SO THEY REALLY CRANKED THESE OUT, DIDN'T THEY?

THEY SURE DID.

SUPPOSEDLY ONE EVERY SIXTEEN MINUTES.

WHAT LEVITT AND SONS DID SO SUCCESSFULLY WAS TO SAY, "WE CAN IN FACT REDUCE THE PRODUCTION OF A HOUSE TO A CERTAIN NUMBER OF REPEATED STEPS."

THE LEVITTS WERE REALLY THE HENRY FORD OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT.

(GEOFFREY) IN A TIME OF COLD WAR ANXIETY, WILLIAM LEVITT SAID, "NO MAN WHO OWNS HIS HOME AND LOT CAN BE A COMMUNIST.

HE HAS TOO MUCH TO DO."

EACH LEVITTOWN FAMILY GOT ITS OWN PIECE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM: ONE OF TWO MODELS IN A VARIETY OF STYLES, WITH THE LATEST APPLIANCES, AND IN SOME HOMES A BUILT-IN TV.

YOU GOT A WASHING MACHINE, A REFRIGERATOR.

YOU GOT A RANGE, THINGS THAT YOU COULD HAVE ONLY DREAMED ABOUT HAVING.

(GEOFFREY) WHAT LEVITTOWN DIDN'T HAVE WAS A TOWN CENTER.

SO LEVITTOWN DOESN'T HAVE A DOWNTOWN.

NO, IT DOES NOT HAVE A DOWNTOWN.

(GEOFFREY) INSTEAD THERE ARE SEVEN VILLAGE GREENS, EACH WITH ITS OWN SMALL RETAIL STRIP.

ORIGINALLY IT INCLUDED OTHER FEATURES AS WELL.

LIKE THE POOL WOULD BE THE ONE THAT'S PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT.

A POOL WAS SIGNIFIER OF A CERTAIN KIND OF PROSPERITY.

IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN A PRIVATE POOL, BUT IT WAS NONETHELESS A POOL, THE KIND OF THING THAT YOU ONLY HAD A COUNTRY CLUB.

(GEOFFREY) THEY'RE REALLY SELLING A WHOLE LIFESTYLE.

(GABRIELLE) THE SUBURB BECAME SOMETHING THAT WAS AVAILABLE TO WE'LL SAY EVERYONE BUT PUT IT IN QUOTES.

(GEOFFREY) YEAH, BECAUSE IT WASN'T EVERYONE, WAS IT?

NO, BECAUSE IT WASN'T EVERYONE.

WE HAD WHAT WERE CALLED RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS WHICH DID NOT ALLOW AFRICAN-AMERICANS TO LIVE IN CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS NOT ONLY WHO COULD LIVE THERE BUT WHO YOU COULD SELL YOUR HOUSE TO.

(GEOFFREY) THE FINE PRINT ON LEVITTOWN MORTGAGES EXCLUDED ALL NON-WHITES.

WILLIAM LEVITT SAID HE FEARED IF ONE AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILY MOVED IN WHITE CUSTOMERS WOULD NOT.

(PAUL GOLDBERGER) IT'S UNTHINKABLE TO US TODAY AND IMMORAL AND UN-AMERICAN, BUT IT WASN'T THEN.

IT WAS THOUGHT TO BE JUST HOW YOU DID BUSINESS, SO TO SPEAK.

(GEOFFREY) THE LEVITTS WOULD GO ON TO BUILD THREE MORE LEVITTOWNS, IN NEW JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA AND PUERTO RICO.

AND THEIR SUBURB WOULD INSPIRE SIMILAR DEVELOPMENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY... THAT RELIED ON MASS-PRODUCTION AND FEDERALLY-BACKED MORTGAGES.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE NATIONAL MALL WAS A DIFFERENT WASHINGTON DC.

THE WORKING POOR WERE CRAMMED INTO "ALLEY DWELLINGS" IN THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF THE NATION'S CAPITAL.

THERE'D BE ROW HOUSES IN THE FRONT AND MORE MODEST STRUCTURES IN THE BACK.

VERY POOR LIVING CONDITIONS.

IT WOULD BE UNLIKELY TO HAVE AN INDOOR TOILET ELECTRICITY RUNNING WATER INDOOR HEATING.

AND YOU COULD SEE THE CAPITOL DOME FROM HERE.

YOU COULD.

(GEOFFREY) AND YET WITHIN THIS WORLD OF ALLEY DWELLERS THERE WAS ALSO A STRONG COMMUNITY WITH ROOTS DATING BACK TO THE CIVIL WAR.

FRANCESCA AMMON: MANY AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN PARTICULAR LIVING IN THESE ALLEY DWELLINGS.

VIBRANT CULTURE AND THERE WERE YOU KNOW MUSICAL INSTITUTIONS, CHURCHES, CORNER GROCERIES.

THIS WAS THE HEART OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY WITHIN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.

(GEOFFREY) CITY LEADERS HAD LONG DREAMED OF WAYS TO "CLEAN UP" THE SOUTHWEST DISTRICT.

AND WHEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STARTED A PROGRAM FOR REBUILDING CITIES KNOWN AS "URBAN RENEWAL" THE DREAM BECAME REALITY.

(FRANCESCA AMMON) THE HOUSING ACT OF 1949 AND I'M TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT TITLE ONE, PROVIDED FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THE CLEARING AWAY OF DILAPIDATED HOUSING CONDITIONS TO BUILD SOMETHING NEW.

BUT THE GOVERNMENT PAID FOR WAS THE DESTRUCTION, PRIVATE DEVELOPERS WOULD PROVIDE FUNDING FOR THE NEW CONSTRUCTION.

(GEOFFREY) SO THE GOVERNMENT PAID FOR THE DESTRUCTION.

THAT'S RIGHT.

(GEOFFREY) THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT QUICKLY LEVELED THE ALLEY DWELLINGS AND SOON SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON DC WAS A CLEAN SLATE.

(FRANCESCA AMMON) IT HAPPENED IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL AND SO ALL EYES WERE ON THE CITY.

IT WAS THE CLEAREST EXAMPLE REALLY OF THIS BULLDOZER APPROACH.

(GEOFFREY) WASHINGTON D.C. URBAN PLANNER LOUIS JUSTEMENT AND A PIONEERING ARCHITECT, CHLOTHIEL WOODARD SMITH, CAME UP WITH A RADICALLY NEW PROPOSAL.

SO SHE REALLY BOUGHT INTO THE MODERNIST PLANNING IDEALS.

YES, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE PLAN THAT SHE PROPOSED.

(GEOFFREY) LIKE DIVIDING THE AREA INTO DISTRICTS -- SEGREGATING INDUSTRY... SHOPPING...ENTERTAINMENT... AND HOUSING INTO THEIR OWN AREAS.

ONE OF THE IDEAS OF MODERNIZING THE CITY WAS TO GET RID OF THIS INTERMINGLING OF CORNER GROCERIES ON THE FIRST FLOOR AND HOUSING ABOVE.

(GEOFFREY) JUSTEMENT AND SMITH ELIMINATED MOST OF THE AREA'S THROUGH-STREETS AND ALLEYS AND REPLACED THEM WITH SUPERBLOCKS.

UPSCALE WASHINGTONIANS WOULD LIVE HERE IN GLEAMING NEW HIGH RISES AND MODERNIST TOWNHOMES.

TALL BUILDINGS AND THEN OPEN PARK SPACE.

TOWERS IN THE PARK.

WE SEE THEM ALL AROUND THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.

(GEOFFREY) ALL OF THE SHOPPING WAS CLUSTERED TOGETHER AS IN SUBURBAN RETAIL DISTRICTS.

(FRANCESCA AMMON) IT WAS THIS EXPERIMENT TO TRY TO COMPETE WITH THE SUBURBS.

(GEOFFREY) L'ENFANT PLAZA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A DISTRICT OF THEATERS AND CONCERT HALLS.

IT WAS BUILT ON AN ELEVATED ROADWAY THAT LEAPED OVER RAILROAD TRACKS AND AN EXPRESSWAY.

(FRANCESCA AMMON) IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A REAL CULTURAL AND ENTERTAINMENT CENTER FOR THE AREA, DRAWING PEOPLE INTO SOUTHWEST.

(GEOFFREY) INSTEAD, THE BUILDINGS ENDED UP HOUSING GOVERNMENT OFFICES.

WHAT HAPPENS AT 5:00?

AT 5:00 THIS PLACE CLEARS OUT.

YEAH, WE END UP WITH JUST A BUNCH OF BUSES PARKED AROUND BECAUSE IT'S A LOT OF CURB SPACE, RIGHT.

EXACTLY.

(GEOFFREY) IN THE END, URBAN RENEWAL SUCCEEDED IN DRIVING UP LAND VALUES AND KEEPING MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES IN THE CITY.

BUT THE ENORMOUS OPEN SPACES ROBBED THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF ITS MOST VITAL QUALITY: STREET LIFE.

IF YOU TALK TO RESIDENTS HERE ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES OF LIVING IN SOUTHWEST, LITTLE THINGS LIKE WHERE DO YOU GO TO GET A CUP OF COFFEE, THERE ISN'T THE COFFEE SHOP RIGHT THERE ON THE CORNER.

YOU HAVE TO GO TOO FAR.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD FEEL THAT COMES FROM THESE INTEGRATION OF USES HAS BEEN LOST.

AND SO THERE'S A CERTAIN QUIETNESS AND DESOLATION TO IT BEING ALL HOUSING.

(GEOFFREY) AND AS FOR THE RESIDENTS OF SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON'S ALLEY DWELLINGS?

THEY WERE SCATTERED ACROSS THE CITY AND ADJACENT TOWNS.

VERY LITTLE OF THE NEW HOUSING WAS AFFORDABLE FOR THE BLACK WORKING CLASS.

SO A LOT OF THE SO-CALLED VICTIMS OF URBAN RENEWAL TENDED TO BE POOR PEOPLE, LARGELY AFRICAN-AMERICAN, ET CETERA.

IT WAS ALSO TERMED NEGRO REMOVAL.

(GEOFFREY) SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON DC WOULD PROVE TO BE A TREND SETTER FOR URBAN RENEWAL.

CONGRESSMEN TOURED THE AREA AND CARRIED THE DREAM OF RENEWAL BACK TO THEIR DISTRICTS, ALONG WITH GENEROUS FEDERAL SUBSIDIES.

CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY WOULD SOON DEMOLISH THEIR OWN TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITIES TO MAKE WAY FOR HIGH RISE HOUSING - IN HOPES OF REVITALIZING THE CITY.

(FRANCESCA AMMON) THIS IDEA THAT WE CAN ERASE THE BLIGHT, WHAT PEOPLE REFER TO AS BLIGHTED SLUMS IN THE CITIES AND PUT IN NEW, BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN, MODERN BUILDINGS AND THAT THAT WOULD SOLVE ALL THE PROBLEMS OF CITIES.

IT WAS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT.

(GEOFFREY) THIS RESORT TOWN OFFERED A VISION OF THE FUTURE THAT LOOKED A LOT LIKE THE PAST.

NOW PEOPLE ALWAYS LOVED THE OLD TOWNS, BUT THEY'D NEVER THOUGHT THEY COULD BE BUILT AGAIN.

THIS VERY, VERY CONSERVATIVE THING WHICH IS WALKABILITY AND PUTTING THE CARS IN THE BACK AND THE KIDS BEING ABLE TO GET AROUND, VERY CONSERVATIVE, ACTUALLY BECAME RADICAL.

(GEOFFREY) SEASIDE, FLORIDA WAS 40 YEARS IN THE MAKING FOR ITS DEVELOPER.

AS A KID, ROBERT DAVIS HAD SPENT MANY BLISSFUL SUMMERS HERE ON HIS GRANDFATHER'S PROPERTY.

BACK THEN, IT WAS 80 ACRES OF UNDEVELOPED BRUSH.

WE WOULD DRIVE OUT THERE AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND SAY, "ONE DAY THIS IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING."

(GEOFFREY) WHEN DAVIS INHERITED THE LAND, HE STARTED DREAMING ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES.

I REALLY STARTED THINKING ABOUT MY CHILDHOOD WHEN WE WOULD STAY IN THESE CRACKER COTTAGES, WITH NO AIR CONDITIONING AND BIG PORCHES AND JUST HANGING OUT ON THE BEACH, BUILDING SAND CASTLES.

(GEOFFREY) DAVIS WONDERED WHETHER HE COULD BUILD A NEIGHBORLY COMMUNITY HERE, THAT DIDN'T RELY ON CARS, TELEVISION, AND AIR CONDITIONING.

WE LIKED THE THINGS THAT OUR GRANDPARENTS REPRESENTED MORE THAN WHAT OUR PARENTS DID.

SO WE REALLY TALKED ABOUT GRANDMA'S FRONT PORCH.

(GEOFFREY) BUT THE COASTLINE OF THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE WAS AN UNLIKELY SPOT FOR AN EXPERIMENT IN OLD-FASHIONED LIVING.

WITHOUT DAVIS' VISION, SEASIDE COULD HAVE EASILY BECOME A WALL OF FACELESS MODERNIST TOWERS LIKE ITS NEIGHBORS.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED VERY BADLY, AS MOST OF THE COAST HAS BEEN.

(GEOFFREY) DAVIS TURNED TO A YOUNG MIAMI ARCHITECTURE FIRM THAT INCLUDED ANDRES DUANY AND ELIZABETH PLATER-ZYBERK.

CREATING A TOWN THAT PUT PEOPLE BEFORE CARS WAS A LOST ART.

IN SEARCH OF INSPIRATION, THE TEAM TOURED SMALL SOUTHERN TOWNS, AND CHECKED OUT LIBRARY BOOKS THAT HAD BEEN GATHERING DUST FOR YEARS.

IT WAS REALLY EXCITING.

IT WAS LIKE ARCHEOLOGICAL RESEARCH.

(GEOFFREY) IT TOOK A WHILE TO SETTLE ON THE RIGHT PLAN.

THERE WAS A FIRST PLAN FOR THIS, WHICH WAS ESSENTIALLY A SUBURBAN SPRAWL PLAN AND THEN THERE WERE A SERIES OF PLANS, WHICH WAS LIZ AND I AND OTHER PEOPLE LEARNING HOW TO DO IT BECAUSE WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS, PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DESIGN A TOWN.

(GEOFFREY) IN SEASIDE, EVERYTHING OLD WAS NEW AGAIN.

DAVIS AND HIS DESIGNERS LAID OUT EVERYTHING WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE.

AND, THAT'S EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF POST-WAR SUBURBS WHERE EVERYTHING WAS ABOUT THE CAR.

(GEOFFREY) YOU DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE TO THE STORE BECAUSE MIXED-USE BUILDINGS COMBINE RESIDENTIAL AND RETAIL-- AN APPROACH THAT HAD FALLEN OUT OF FAVOR IN POST-WAR SUBURBS.

THE MIXED-USE BUILDINGS FRONT A CENTRAL GREEN SPACE KNOWN AS THE 'AMPHITHEATER.'

MOST POST-WAR SUBURBS PRIVILEGE PRIVATE SPACE OVER PUBLIC SPACE.

AT SEASIDE THE PUBLIC SPACE IS PRIMARY.

(GEOFFREY) CAR TRAFFIC IS FORCED TO SLOW TO A CRAWL ON THE COUNTY HIGHWAY THAT SERVES SEASIDE.

IN TOWN, THE SLOW, NARROW STREETS -- AND A LACK OF ABUNDANT PARKING -- ENCOURAGE FAMILIES TO DITCH THEIR CARS.

SO THAT'S BY DESIGN, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU DID BY DESIGN.

YOU WANTED THE TRAFFIC TO MOVE SLOWLY.

RIGHT, YES, ABSOLUTELY AND WE DID IT FOR THE DOGS, BUT THE KIDS ENJOY IT TOO.

(GEOFFREY) WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

(ANDRES)BECAUSE ROBERT HAD A COUPLE OF DACHSHUNDS THAT HE WANTED TO LET HAVE RUN LOOSE.

(GEOFFREY) TO INTRODUCE VARIETY, THE TOWN PLANNERS CALLED FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOUSING: SINGLE FAMILY, TOWNHOMES, AND APARTMENTS.

ANDRES DUANY WANTED THE TOWN TO HAVE A CONSISTENT, YET DIVERSE CHARACTER, SO HE CREATED A SET OF RULES FOR ARCHITECTS CALLED FORM-BASED CODES.

CAN YOU SHOW ME SOME EXAMPLES OF THAT?

YEAH.

THERE ARE FOUR RULES: WIDTH, HEIGHT, BUILD TO LINE, BALCONY.

AND IF YOU LOOK AT THIS, YOU SEE MODERNIST BUILDINGS, NEO CLASSICAL BUILDINGS, HYPER-MODERNIST BUILDINGS.

THIS IS URBAN DIVERSITY, FOR GOOD OR ILL, BUT THAT'S THE DEAL, THAT'S WHAT YOU GET.

SOME PEOPLE ARE UGLY, SOME ARE NOT, SOME ARE TALL, SOME ARE SHORT, IT'S JUST SO REAL.

(GEOFFREY) THERE'S EVEN A RULE ABOUT THE PICKET FENCES: NO TWO CAN BE ALIKE.

SEASIDE, FLORIDA SIGNALED A RETURN TO AGE-OLD PLANNING PRINCIPLES, AND IT PROVED HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL.

THE APPROACH THIS SMALL RESORT TOWN PIONEERED IN THE 1980'S WAS BRANDED NEW URBANISM.

AND IT CONTINUES TO HAVE AN ENORMOUS IMPACT ON URBAN PLANNING ACROSS AMERICA.

DID YOU EVER THINK YOU'D BE STARTING A MOVEMENT?

NO, I CERTAINLY DIDN'T.

PEOPLE WOULD SAY, WOW, THIS IS AMAZING, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PROJECT AND I SAID, WHAT, FOUR HOUSES AND A PAVILION ON THE BEACH?

ROBERT DAVIS REALLY THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO BE AN IMPORTANT PLACE AND I THINK IT BECAME AN IMPORTANT PLACE BECAUSE THE WORLD WAS READY FOR IT.

(GEOFFREY) THIS JUST MAY BE WHAT THE FUTURE OF URBAN PLANNING LOOKS LIKE.

THE NEW AND THE OLD SIDE BY SIDE.

IT'S IN THE ARCHITECTURE, THE PARKS, THE STREETS.

NOT TO MENTION THE BRAND NEW STREETCAR LINE.

THE PEARL NEIGHBORHOOD IN PORTLAND I THINK IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES LIKE PORTLAND ITSELF THAT SORT OF DOES EVERYTHING RIGHT.

IN FACT, SOMETIMES I THINK, GEE, THE ONLY THING WRONG WITH THIS PLACE IS NOTHING'S WRONG.

(GEOFFREY) PORTLAND'S PEARL DISTRICT IS WHAT'S CALLED A "TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT."

IT'S A NEW TERM THAT DESCRIBES A VERY OLD PRACTICE, OF DESIGNING OUR COMMUNITIES AROUND PUBLIC TRANSIT.

WHY IS A STREETCAR BETTER THAN A BUS?

THE RIDE IS MUCH HIGHER QUALITY.

THE STREET CAR CAN OFFER YOU A PERMANENCE THAT HAS AN IMPACT ON DEVELOPERS.

WHEN THE TRACK IS IN, YOU KNOW THE LINE IS GOING TO BE THERE AND REMAIN THERE.

(GEOFFREY) THE STREETCAR HELPED BRING THIS PART OF PORTLAND TO LIFE.

NOT SO LONG AGO, IT WAS A NO-MAN'S-LAND.

UP UNTIL 20 YEARS AGO, THIS WAS ALL RAILROAD TRACKS AND WAREHOUSES, RIGHT?

YES, IT WAS ABANDONED RAILROAD YARD.

(GEOFFREY) IT LAY NORTH OF A KEY STREET THAT WAS CONSIDERED THE END OF INHABITABLE PORTLAND.

(RICK GUSTAFSON) BURNSIDE WAS ALWAYS THE DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN THE SUCCESSFUL PART ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND THE UNSUCCESSFUL PART ON THE NORTH SIDE.

(GEOFFREY) THEN, IN THE EARLY 1970S, A MAMMOTH BOOKSTORE OPENED ON BURNSIDE.

THIS INSPIRED ARTISTS AND ENTREPRENEURS TO MOVE INTO THE NEARBY EMPTY WAREHOUSES WHERE RENT WAS CHEAP.

CHEAP?

VERY CHEAP.

WHY WAS IT SO CHEAP?

BECAUSE IT DIDN'T APPEAR TO HAVE MUCH VALUE.

(GEOFFREY) AN ART GALLERY OWNER GAVE THE AREA ITS NAME: THE PEARL DISTRICT.

BECAUSE THE AGING LOFT BUILDINGS WERE LIKE OYSTER SHELLS, AND THE ARTISTS INSIDE, PEARLS.

PORTLAND'S PLANNING COMMISSION WANTED TO ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT.

BUT IT DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE THE SCORCHED EARTH APPROACH THAT HAD TRANSFORMED SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON D.C.

SO THE COMMISSION'S 1972 PLAN STARTED BY PRESERVING THE OLD INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS.

THE IDEA OF PRESERVING A LOT OF THE PAST VALUES RATHER THAN BULLDOZING DOWN EVERYTHING AND REBUILDING BECAME THE MANTRA.

(GEOFFREY) AS IN SEASIDE, PLANNERS WANTED TO ENCOURAGE WALKING, AND A VIBRANT STREET LIFE.

FOR GUIDANCE, THEY REACHED BACK TO THE WORK OF JANE JACOBS.

SO ONE OF YOUR BIG INSPIRATIONS WAS THE WRITINGS OF JANE JACOBS?

THE JANE JACOBS "DEATH AND LIFE OF AMERICAN CITIES" WAS THE MODEL FOR THE DOWNTOWN PLAN.

THE BASIC PRINCIPLE IS TO GET PEOPLE ON THE STREETS 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAY A WEEK.

(GEOFFREY) JANE JACOBS WAS NOT AN ARCHITECT OR URBAN PLANNER.

SHE WAS A WRITER AND ACTIVIST WHO HAD OPPOSED URBAN RENEWAL IN HER NEW YORK CITY NEIGHBORHOOD.

SHE LOVED THE SIDEWALK BALLET AND SHE LOVED STREET LIFE AND SHE LOVED THE BARS AND RESTAURANTS AND HOUSING.

(GEOFFREY) INSPIRED BY JACOBS, THE PORTLAND PLANNERS SUGGESTED MAKING THE PEARL DISTRICT AN AREA OF SMALL BLOCKS, WITH NARROW STREETS, DESIGNED FOR MORE THAN JUST AUTOMOBILES.

(RICK GUSTAFSON) A LOT OF WORK WAS DONE IN THE 80S AND THE 90S ON RE-DESIGNING STREETS, RE-DESIGNATING THEM, ACCOMMODATING BIKES.

TORE DOWN A WHOLE VIADUCT.

RIGHT.

THIS CHANGE IN ACCESS, THE VIADUCT COMING DOWN, THE STREET CAR GOING INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE DEVELOPMENT WAS A NEW THING FOR PORTLAND.

THE STREETS ARE VERY NARROW AND THE STREET CARS SHARE THE STREET WITH CARS.

YES.

THE SHARING IS NOT A DISADVANTAGE.

MY CONTENTION IS IT'S ACTUALLY SAFER TO BE MIXING WITH TRAFFIC THAN IT IS TO HAVE AN EXCLUSIVE LANE.

(GEOFFREY) JUST AS THE CITY HAD HOPED, THE STREETCAR LINE ATTRACTED NEW DEVELOPMENT.

THOUSANDS OF NEW RESIDENTIAL UNITS HAVE SPROUTED HERE IN THE PAST DECADE, ALONG WITH HIGH-END OFFICES AND RETAIL.

I LOOK AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

IT LOOKS PRETTY UPSCALE.

CAN PEOPLE WITH LOWER INCOMES AFFORD TO LIVE HERE?

IT'S REGARDED AS VERY AFFORDABLE.

THERE ARE 22% OF THE UNITS IN THE PEARL HAVE INCOME CONTROLS ON THEM.

THEY HAVE TO BE BELOW A CERTAIN INCOME LEVEL IN ORDER TO LIVE IN THAT UNIT.

(GEOFFREY) THREE PARKS WERE BUILT IN THE PEARL TO ATTRACT NEW RESIDENTS, AND RETAIN LONG-TERM ONES.

SO, WHILE YOU MAY HAVE HAD YOUR OWN BACKYARD IN THE SUBURB, WHAT YOU HAVE IN AN URBAN LIFESTYLE IS THE PARK WHERE YOU CAN ENJOY OUTDOORS, AND DO IT IN A COLLECTIVE MANNER.

(GEOFFREY) MORE THAN 6,000 PEOPLE NOW LIVE IN AN AREA THAT WAS ONCE CONSIDERED UNINHABITABLE.

AND IT'S BEING HAILED AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL TOWN FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.

IT TURNED AROUND PORTLAND AND I'M GUESSING IT'S TURNED AROUND A LOT OF CITIES TO SEE THAT URBAN LIFESTYLE CAN BE THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE AND THE MOST ATTRACTIVE.

(GEOFFREY) THE PEARL DISTRICT IS PART OF A LONG AMERICAN TRADITION, IN WHICH WE'VE TRIED TO CREATE MORE LIVABLE URBAN ENVIRONMENTS.

IN THIS COUNTRY, WE'VE ALWAYS HAD A ROCKY RELATIONSHIP WITH CITY LIVING.

AND WE'VE NEVER QUITE FIGURED OUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.

WE'VE TRIED TO BUILD CITIES THAT ARE GREENER, AND MORE SPACIOUS.

WE'VE TRIED TO ESCAPE CITIES ALTOGETHER.

WE'VE EVEN TRIED LEVELING OUR CITIES, IN AN ATTEMPT TO SAVE THEM.

AND NOW WE'RE RETURNING TO CITIES, WITH THE HOPE THAT WE CAN CREATE A MORE PERFECT URBAN EXPERIENCE WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF PLANNING.

WE NEED BIG IDEAS AND BIG PLANS, THEY'RE INSPIRATIONAL ESPECIALLY IN THE FACE OF BIG CHALLENGES.

BUT I THINK AT THE SAME TIME, WE CAN'T BE COMING DOWN FROM ABOVE AND IMPOSING ONE IDEA PERHAPS AGAINST WHAT PEOPLE ON THE GROUND WANT.

THE PLAN IS ONE IDEAL, BUT THE LIVED REALITY BUILDS UPON THAT AND DEVIATES AS WELL AND THAT'S REALLY THE STORY OF PLANNING.

YOU CAN'T CONTROL WHAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DO, BUT YOU CAN START WITH SOME GOOD IDEAS, HOPEFULLY.

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