HOT TAKE: The Developers in UP did nothing wrong!
Pixar's 2009 movie "Up" starts as a beautiful representation of progress and urbanization in America. However, the plot quickly gets highjacked by the a man trying to recreate his long gone golden years. Some have interpreted it as yet another example of the "evil developer" just like "Its a Wonderful Life", "The Goonies", and "Superman".
Let me explain: the introduction of the characters for Up takes place over a long span of time. Starting as a small boy, you can see the evolution of the neighborhood over the first half hour or so.
But I am here to say NO!
The love-able old man with the cane is behind the times and unwilling to confront reality!
Steadily you can see more infrastructure and houses going in, starting with a dirt road and a windmill to a white picket fence and similar houses next to it. This part occurs over say 35 years. Fast-forward 30 more years and you will see that cities do what cities do. They grow and expand. Although the photo of the house with the construction around it seems sad, I would point out that as the house is flying away, you do not see any other single-family houses! It is no longer a suburb, it is in the center of the city!
If you'll notice in the last photo, this was not an immediate jump in scale of development either, there had already been three story apartment building built around his neighborhood, signifying the incremental change in scale of the neighborhood.
To those of you who say, that its mean to build something that big next to an old man's house, may I point out that we never see the design! It could be that the architect's design was as respectful as possible to the stubborn man's house, but we never see it, and I guarantee he went to a total of ZERO city council meetings.
I have (almost) nothing against single family houses, but their placement within a city waters down the density of the city. Having neighborhoods of single family houses so
close to the core of a city deters the construction of infrastructure projects,
and other means of reducing the already over burdened roads and highways of US
cities because these projects require a minimum number of residents within an
area who would use the system. Just because land was on the outskirts in the 30s doesn't mean that it should be treated the same way 70 years later.
In conclusion, the grumpy old man was not being forced out of his home (until he assaulted a construction worker). The only thing pushing him out was the inevitable growth of a city over decades. As more people move to the cities, we need more apartment buildings than individual houses. If he had floated his house out to where the suburbs are now, that would have been fine.
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100% agree, I thought the same while watching "Up") Nostalgia is a nice thing but is harmful to development. Another question is what exactly the developers will build and how. In reality usually, these transformations take time and an environment changes gradually thus are less drastic for locals.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting perspective. I had never really thought about the development around the house in the story of Up. It's easy to see the developers and the men in the black suits as immediate "bad guys" when put in context of the nostalgia of the story of this man's life. Change is generally hard for people, no matter what scale. This man is just an extreme example of not wanting the change to happen. In order to develop a city, or yourself, you have to be open to improvements, making modifications, trying new things, taking new risks. I'm glad you brought up this example, because it is making me think about the story of "Up" differently.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that cities should focus on keeping density high, I also think that the old man had a right to continue his way of life. He was being displaced even though that is all he has known for years. Of course he would resist that change, as I'm sure most of us would.This is one of those situations that doesn't seem to have a clear answer. Do you focus on making the city better or making the people living there happy?
ReplyDeleteI agree, but this is an extreme example of this situation. There's almost no way that one little house with its perfectly green lawn and white picket fence would last surrounded by all those high rises going up around it. No one in there right mind would want to live in that house with all that construction going on. If a situation like this ever existed, honestly I gotta give respect to the old dude for sticking to his guns. So much so that you let him live it out or do something extreme like tie a bunch of balloons to his house and float off. But I agree with idea of a city steadily outgrowing the house.
ReplyDeleteInteresting take on the movie "Up," however, I feel that I must position myself on the other side of this argument. I cannot agree that dense urban environments are just inherently better than sprawling suburban ones. I would agree with Margaret Crawford's argument that "sprawling landscapes" can foster diversity, as they attract middle class, working class, poor, white, black, Hispanic, and Pilipino alike. Therefore, I would argue that the city should not always displace an entire existing community. If growth and density are a desire, then perhaps there is a way for the new development to respond to the existing in a way that respects the scale and organization...so that it is more of an infiltration, rather than a displacement of a unique community. As designers, we are educated to design in a way that responds to existing contexts and communities, so why should this situation be any different?
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I was never very sympathetic with the old man's house being in the middle of this new development in the first place! The thought that actually first crossed my mind was why the heck would he want to stick through this situation in the first place?? I understand the emotional connected to the house...but come all little stubborn guy! This is clearly not what you want! Take the money and run and get yourself another white picket fence in the quiet neighborhood that you spent the early years in your life dreaming about.
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