February 12, 2025

Better Cities Film Festival | Petaluma — Film Selections

Explore a curated showcase of innovative urban design, community-driven solutions, and captivating narratives that reimagine how we live, work, and connect in cities around the world.

 

The Edible Bus Stop (Parts 1 and 2): The Edible Bus Stop® in South London transformed neglected urban public sites into design-led, community growing spaces.

RitaHouse: Originally a 1926 Hollywood prop design studio, RitaHouse is now a supportive shared workspace for creative entrepreneurs.

Precollinear Park - A Placemaking Experience: A Turin, Italy community transforms a dismissed tramway terminus and abandoned track into a low-budget public park.

 

Jack's Solar Garden: Combining solar and agriculture, Jack's Solar Garden offers land developers and farmers a win-win scenario.

Ballyfermot Play Park: The Irish Architecture Foundation and Dublin City Council collaborated on a BMX park fulfilling the vision of young bikers.

Spirit of Detroit: The residents of Detroit are rising to the challenge to make a new city and a new future for themselves.

 

Thoughts on Reimagining Urban Sites: A pioneering designer of iconic public spaces discusses the principles that have guided his work.

Urbanizing the Suburbs, Ohio: City leaders, developers, and architects work to together to make suburbs relevant again with walkable places.

Bikes vs. Cars - The False Dichotomy: Bike infrastructure is often described as hostile towards cars, but good bike policies are also good for cars and walkers.

 

Bicycle Friendly Streets: A neighborhood council designates bicycle friendly streets and devises mitigations to reduce high car travel and cut-thru traffic.

DTLA Street Futures: An exploration into the future of streets and cycling in Los Angeles.

River City Rising: Facing a severe housing crisis, Spokane developed a Housing for All initiative inspired by and rooted in its own history.

 

The Northparker: A new mixed-use building brings together craft beer, street tacos, and modern design in a trendy San Diego neighborhood.

The Square Deal Towns: Binghamton, Endicott, and Johnson City, New York, once home to major companies, revitalize after decades of disinvestment.

Tactical Urbanism Workshop - Cataguases: With an architect and 25 students, Urb-i transforms a small city space in Brazil within hours.

 

Seaside - American Makeover Series: Andrés Duany, who helped design it, interprets Seaside, showing groundbreaking ideas as byproducts of building without debt.

 
Sharon Kirk

Sharon joined Urban Chat in 2017 following a spontaneous meeting with Kevin McDonnell at the Petaluma Engagement Fair (sponsored by PCRC). Her interest in Petaluma city planning stems from her years of living in vibrant, walkable cities including San Francisco and Göteborg, Sweden. Sharon assists with Urban Chat promotional activities and acts as co-chair of the Know Before You Grow educational committee. And despite her hesitation as an introvert, she occasionally hosts events.

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September 24, 2025

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September 20 and 28, 2023