Summary: Spark classroom discussion about gender roles and evolving definitions of family with this program on worldwide birthrates. Examining trends in Denmark, Japan, South Korea, and other countries, the video uses data-mapping of childbirth statistics to construct a global picture of cultural conventions and expectations. How adults in different areas of the world view parenthood-whether or not both...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program explains the surprisingly strong effect that street lighting has on our cities. In addition to being a powerful tool to prevent crime, more and better lighting has improved the sense of well-being and added new dimensions to the business and social activities of the city. But as a whole new world was created from lighting the darkness, the problem has turned from quality of light...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Early cities emerged from trading posts and fortresses; they were generally accessible by water and easily defended. This program examines the metamorphosis of the city from fort and trading post to cultural epicenter and beyond. Ancient cities are discussed and Athens and Rome are compared. Modern cities including New York and Paris are also presented, with a focus on Paris' attempt to...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: According to the UN, more than three-quarters of the world's population will live in cities by the year 2050, and the dimensions of urban development will be staggering: towns and cities will merge to form urban complexes with populations of 20 to 30 million. This program travels through Holland, the Ruhr area, and Berlin to observe the ways technology and the wealth of ideas from architects,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Year by year the tourist trade has dwindled in fictional Pingwah Falls, leaving the town practically bankrupt. When a plan was unveiled for a modern resort, everyone's hopes rose.until they learned the land is home to a threatened species of bird. In this Fred Friendly Seminar moderated by Harvard Law School's Arthur Miller, panelists including former county supervisor Tom Mullen; Christopher...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program-a valuable tool for introducing the concepts of energy security, antiterrorism, and managing change at the global level-identifies the roots of violent conflict by way of specific examples. Through discussion of territorial conflicts (India/Pakistan, Israel/PLO), genocides (Rwanda, Srebrenica), terrorism (al Qaeda, IRA, ETA), and hybridized violence such as that found in Sudan,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: By 2015, homelessness may be a thing of the past in Portland, Oregon. Taking a "housing first" stance, Portland has reversed the cause-and-effect approach to urban renewal by first securing homes for its homeless residents and then helping them solve the problems that made them homeless to begin with. In this program, Victoria, British Columbia, applies Portland's public policy to its own...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Every day our cities are swamped with a logjam of cars, trucks, and buses. Behind this chaos, though, lies a master plan which struggles to keep the modern city on the move. This program explores the age-old battle between the city and its traffic as we follow a colorful London cabby on his journeys throughout the city. The program explains the origin of traffic signals, examines the American...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Defining the typical New Yorker has always been impossible; today, the definition of a Londoner is nearly as elusive. This program travels London's increasingly cosmopolitan neighborhoods, sorting through perspectives on immigration and resistance to it. Interviews with leaders and everyday citizens reveal distrust in several quarters; Lord Nazir Ahmed and East London Muslims cite examples of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Were it not for the elemental forces of the Nile River, the great architecture of ancient Egypt and Ethiopia might never have been built. But in today's water-starved world, the river could lead both countries down a destructive path. This program examines lives and livelihoods that depend on the Nile, from the humble to the hugely ambitious. In Egypt, viewers encounter a struggling Cairo...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The human population is likely to double by the middle of the 21st century, soaring past 10 billion people. How will all these people survive? Will there be enough resources to meet everyone's needs or will there be massive social upheaval, famine, and rampant pollution? These questions have been a consuming passion for biologist and environmental pioneer Paul Ehrlich, who set out decades ago...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The dire prediction by controversial economist Thomas Malthus that the world's expanding population would swiftly outrun its food supply has not come to fruition-yet. In this program, demographer Paul Demeny, of the Population Council; Walter Reid, of the World Resources Institute; and Max Singer, co-founder of the Hudson Institute, join Ben Wattenberg, of the American Enterprise Institute, in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Stretching over 4,000 miles across South America, the Amazon River has long defied human efforts to tame it. Not a single bridge crosses it, and not one dam halts its flow. This program visits urban centers on the banks of the Amazon and examines new attempts to harness-or exploit-the river's energy and natural abundance. The journey begins at Iquitos-a Peruvian city blighted by poverty and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: City planning that puts people before cars, sculptural museums that are as artistic as the masterpieces they contain, commercial spaces that redefine retail—these are some of the paradigm-shaking ideas of today’s architects at work. This compilation of recent NewsHour segments introduces viewers to Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, Vincent Scully, and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: As the world's population reaches staggering numbers, the populations of Europe, Japan, and Canada have fallen to unprecedented lows. This program analyzes why more and more young women and men from these regions are postponing or altogether skipping having children. But as many twenty-somethings opt to pursue career ambitions, enjoy the pleasures of leisure time, or seek the comfort of living...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program examines how urbanization, industrialization, and overreaching agriculture are depleting the Earth of its natural resources. Citing environmental changes in Morocco, Ghana, Ukraine, Mexico, and Vietnam, the program studies the impact of population growth and profiles organizations that respond to ecological crises stemming from such growth. With a focus on educational outreach...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program features data-mapping techniques that shed light on inner-city conditions in America and England. With an overview of manufacturing declines that took place during the 20th century and their effect on densely populated urban centers, the video compares and contrasts situations in Philadelphia and Birmingham, England. Studying these cities from a human angle, the program delves into...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Satisfying one's hunger is a primal act which most Westerners never connect to global issues. But the diets and farming systems of wealthy countries can be directly linked to starvation in the underdeveloped world. This program sheds light on the international tragedy of hunger and malnutrition, emphasizing that the problem is one of distribution, not production. Filmed in Asia, South America,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: As the 21st century unfolds, how are Americans adapting to urgent issues involving sustainable growth, quality of life, and community planning? Segment one of this NewsHour program examines the effect of urban sprawl on Atlanta's population, job and housing markets, the environment, and commuters. Segment two addresses the need for affordable housing in Burlington, Vermont, where the disparity...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Thirst, starvation, claustrophobia-all three await the whole of humanity, if global population and consumption rates continue unchanged. This program explores the looming crisis in practical terms, measuring as accurately as possible our planet's capacity for human habitation. Host Sir David Attenborough guides viewers through the core problems of water scarcity, shortsighted agricultural...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Through her groundbreaking books, Jane Jacobs has influenced the planning and understanding of cities and economies with what she calls a "web way of thinking." In this program, Jacobs shares her insights into urban planning by tracing the progression of ideas in her books, including The Death and Life of Great American Cities; The Economy of Cities; Cities and the Wealth of Nations; Systems of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program defines Mexico City's globalization in terms of winners and losers, examining how, in the world's largest metropolis, immigration challenges are linked to poverty and population influx from surrounding rural areas. Contrasting the city's high-tech facilities and fashionable neighborhoods with its sprawling slums and their struggling inhabitants, the program outlines the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: On the surface, New York and Los Angeles are quintessentially American cities, and although each is recognizable by its media image, both are little understood. This program transcends that superficial imagery through the fascinating story of how both cities responded to, and were reshaped by, the pervasive forces of economic and social change that characterized late-20th-century America. The...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Each week, in countries around the globe, nearly a million people say goodbye to their homes in impoverished rural regions-and move to even worse conditions in cities. This program explores the tragic results: illegal slums filled with some of the poorest people in the world, lacking water, sanitation, and other resources needed to support exploding populations. Viewers are shown the lives and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007