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Arts & Communication Integrating films in city planning and urban design

form, city structure and composition, human behavior urban scenes through actualities, melodramas, and city
and social life, transportation, urban security, streets, symphonies. Diverse genres such as gangster films,
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plazas and squares, green spaces, and architectural German expressionism, and film noir delved into the
facades and ensembles. darker aspects of urban life, while musicals and romantic
(2) Introspection: Students reflect on their thoughts and comedies depicted a more idealized urban existence. Art
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feelings, engaging in self-examination to contemplate cinema often showcases the everyday experiences of city
their perceptions, deep critical thinking, and life, whereas modern films frequently imagine dystopian
emotional responses to the movie. futures or vast megacities populated by superheroes.
(3) Analysis: This stage involves compiling insights about The interplay between cinema and the urban
social and urban relationships, spatial dynamics, environment can be analyzed from multiple angles.
the built environment, and processes, creating a Cinema serves as an urban archive or repository of
comprehensive understanding of the film’s urban memory, reflecting changes in the urban landscape.
context. Visual analysis activity and comparative
urban design critique are employed. Concurrently, it shapes urban development by influencing
(4) Synthesis: Students integrate aspects of the film with the growth of major film production hubs like Los Angeles,
their existing knowledge, theories, and paradigms Mumbai, Rome, Paris, Sydney, Vancouver, Berlin, Toronto,
about urbanism and related issues, synthesizing a New York, and Hong Kong and by creating imaginative
cohesive perspective in a dialectic discussion on urban spaces that reflect and shape our perceptions and
cinemascapes and urbanism. Creative storyboarding ideals of city life. Scholars assert that cinema inherently
is also employed here. possesses urbanistic qualities. For example, Hansen
(5) Futurescape: In the final session, ideas are brainstormed posits that the city, particularly its streets, serves as a
in an open forum discussion with peers, including quintessential cinematic space, encapsulating the essence
presentations of tasks completed during the movie of modernity through experiences of contingency, fluidity,
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sessions. This encourages collaborative thinking and unpredictability. In 1999, Hansen further argued that
and deeper engagement with the material, that is, cinema functioned as a form of vernacular modernism,
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visualizing future and present urbanisms. articulating, and mediating the urban experience.
(6) Graffiti session: The exercise concludes with a creative Similarly, Clarke examines how films portray urban spaces
session involving sketching and other visual methods. and their cultural implications, highlighting the reciprocal
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This stage consolidates the previous elements into a relationship between cinema and urban environments. In
visual representation, enhancing the understanding addition, Donald explores the intersection of urban studies
of complex urban phenomena, whether static or and cinema, emphasizing the significance of film in urban
dynamic. cultural studies. 39
(7) Final discussion: The last stage involves a comprehensive Recently, scholarly interest in spatial theories and
discussion encapsulating the seven steps. Like the urbanism has significantly focused on cinematic urbanism,
Michigan Urban Design Program (MUD), students promoting interdisciplinary collaborations among film
extract lessons from the films by interpreting their scholars, urban planners, geographers, and architects. Both
locations and engaging in group discussions. Exercises cinema and cities are complex, multifaceted entities. 2,10,40,41
may include drawing plans, sections, and elevations of Therefore, analyzing their relationship requires exploring
the film’s settings or assuming a character’s identity various global cities across historical periods. Cinema
to describe their relationship with the surrounding frequently offers multiple interpretations of the same city,
urban environment. Reflections include creative such as New York, with distinct narratives, genres, studios,
visualization with collaborative discussion. directors, and films providing unique perspectives.

4. Discussion: Integrating disciplines in Numerous academic works have tangentially examined
films set in urban contexts, contributing to this dynamic
urbanism education through cinema field of study. Urban planning and urban design draw from
The intricate connection between cinema and urbanity multiple disciplines, greatly benefiting from collaboration
has long been established. The advent of cinema emerged with environmental design, sociology, psychology,
alongside society’s rapid urbanization and industrialization, economics, and architecture. Integrating insights from
with early cinematic production and exhibition these diverse fields is crucial to understanding and
predominantly occurring in urban centers. Cities have analyzing urban spaces effectively. A particularly effective
consistently provided a rich and multifaceted backdrop method for proposing solutions is the visual representation
for cinematic exploration. Early films documented of environments through sketches, maps, photos, and

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2025) 11 doi: 10.36922/ac.4130