September 24, 2025
Better Petaluma Film Festival — Film Selections
On September 24, 2025, Petaluma Urban Chat hosted its third annual film festival. Nearly two full theaters came together to watch a lineup of short films exploring community power, reimagined public spaces, and innovative approaches to creating more livable cities.
The lively conversations continued afterward at Hank’s, where neighbors, filmmakers, and city leaders shared ideas and inspiration late into the evening.
Watch the films that screened!
Universal Solutions for Cities Everywhere: Renowned planner Peter Calthorpe shares his seven principles for building better cities, offering a clear blueprint to reduce emissions, fight sprawl, and design places where people and neighborhoods can thrive.
What Makes Walkable Cities: Walkability pioneer Dan Burden offers a clear, inspiring roadmap to transform car-first streets into people-centered places—healthier, easier to navigate, and climate-smart.
Paris School Streets - Safe for Children, Safe for Everyone: A colorful portrait of Paris’s fast-growing “School Streets,” where closing roads to cars during school hours creates safety, joy, and momentum for other cities to follow.
Incremental Development - Strong Towns Curbside Chat: This film highlights “Strong Citizens” who take small, practical steps to improve their blocks and neighborhoods—proving that incremental efforts can build lasting strength.
Bowtie High - Renovating an Old High School: In Homestead, Pennsylvania, three friends transformed an abandoned high school into modern apartments—illustrating how creative reuse can preserve history, add housing, and fuel renewal.
Saving the City - Minneapolis Flour Power: Minneapolis’s historic flour mills, once the backbone of industry, now anchor a thriving riverfront district—demonstrating how honoring the past can shape a vibrant urban future.
Are Parking Lots Ruining Your City?: In Fayetteville, Arkansas, removing parking minimums jump-started downtown revitalization—filling empty buildings, boosting local business, and fostering a more walkable core.
Saving the City - Birmingham Railroad Park: Once an industrial site by the tracks, Birmingham’s Railroad Park was transformed into a lush public space that spurred housing, a ballpark, and new vitality—showing how reclaiming land can spark civic pride and economic growth.
A Vision for Downtown Oxnard: In Oxnard, an open “By-Design Charrette” brought residents, planners, and city leaders together to reimagine downtown—showcasing how inclusive planning can guide the next chapter.
