The movie, china town, dates back to 1974, written by Robert Evans and directed by Roman Polanski. The film is believed to have picked its inspiration from the California water wars that involved an outrage of disputes over the southern California water at the end of the19th century. It has employed drama and larger a section harboring mystery. The movie includes some themes such as love, dishonesty, corruption, and deceit but mainly touches on the idea of urban planning and development which is the main backbone of the movie. The city in question, Chinatown is being controlled by a very fundamental resource, water, which is owned and managed by one of its tycoons and leaders who uses corruption and malice to manipulate the wealth of the whole town.
Cross calls Hollis Mulwray who is portrayed a genius for using water to help convert Los Angeles from a useless patch of desert into an urban and advanced state. Cross, however, turns this approach into an excuse for evil deeds such as murder, killing Hollis when he interferes with Cross’s plans for the new reservoir. Similarly, Russ Yelburton is persuaded to betray both the public and a man he admires to gain greater control of the water.
The town is perceived and positioned as a place where injustices are allowed as well as the use of resources is set to occur in a certain way by those in leadership. With a powerful asset as water, it is easier to misuse authority since it is a necessity for survival. The crimes that are well evident in “Chinatown” include incest and murder, but the biggest crime is the people being against the city’s future, by men who see that to control the water is to manage the wealth of the town in general. According to the urban gateway, a journal that talks about urban development in any community, Making sure there are a large number of jobs in a city is a massive priority for local leaders. It is important to note that Cities compete to attract investment intending to generate economic activity and prosperity.
The idea of urban planning that involves the use of land and other resources to see that much wealth is acquired as well as generated to assist people in a particular country is left to some greedy leaders who have sabotaged and used it to their advantage. The task of urban planning should be controlled by the local government in any state since it is the paramount element of a prosperous nation. Chinatown is, however, an indication of poor governance since no immediate action was taken to root out crime in the area
As much as the concept of urban planning is mostly dependent on the ideas of individuals as well as the implementation of projects, the will of prospective city leaders to create a conducive environment is paramount. Greed in Chinatown that was in line with negligence of those in charge rendered difficult most operations. Situations however vary; it could be the issue of political instability or a bunch of uncouth leaders or pollution as seen in the suburban neighborhoods. All these places a hindrance in development processes that are positioned to benefit an urban ecosystem
Preservation of land is an asset to ensuring that all resources needed to improve living standards as well as promote urban development are used. The water firm for instance in the movie Chinatown is a clear indication of well-utilized land set to benefit its residents. More so in one of the projects carried out in suburbia, 238 inhabitants were removed and 59 dwellings destroyed so that more street space could be created. It was in a bid to turn the area into a somewhat modern residence but ended up being rigid and eventually inappropriate for the environment.
Looking at the suburban communities, where most people travel from head to the cities for employment, a more significant percentage suffers from lack of facilities. These places, however, are endowed with all sorts of natural resources like trees, oil and mines yet to be explored and put to use. It is more reason why there’s need to utilize the resources therein and use them to generate facilities and services to the suburban neighborhoods.
One may again ask how suburban neighborhoods emerge. I would argue out that with the development of an urban state, the existence of a local section is inevitable. As much as we have development taking place in a particular area, reaching out to every part is unrealistic. A considerable rift is created where only a section of people can enjoy the privilege of acquiring all the necessary commodities with the rest being left to depend on the urban areas. This creates a suburban neighborhood. Lack of utilization of resources is what gives rise to unused land, trees and so on and so forth.
Jobless ghettos are what the book, when one disappears, the world of the new urban poor, terms the suburban areas to be. It is believed to be a section where unemployment, early pregnancies, high crime rates and other vices dwell. Wilson in the text blames the urban planning a development that is geared towards technology and education to sustain employees. Manual jobs are underrated hence many cannot acquire well-paying posts unless they are very much educated and skilled. Unemployment gives rise to the suburban neighborhood where many bury themselves in crime to feed their families.
Unemployment is one menace that is hard to root out. It, however, is the most crucial element if one is to achieve a society where the crime rate is reduced. Joblessness is what gives rise to individuals trying out all ways to sustain a living including crime.Urban planning requires to a great extent proper utilization of resources and opportunities to provide jobs. This can help get rid of suburban neighborhoods and render the economy sustainable.
Urban planning and development is a very fundamental property of any state; it is a concept that can easily be violated and not attained if at all there’s some bit of instability in some parts of establishment and planning. Factors such as greed among leaders, reduced resource utilization, disregarding human resources and indulgence into too much technology at the expense of workforce pull the concept of urban planning behind in one way or another. Urban Planning is mostly used as an effective method to deal with the problems created by urban entrepreneurialism and local expansionist plans. Therefore those behind it carry a large percentage of the economy of a country and any kind of urban design for any nation must be geared towards employing as this would rule out some crimes.
- Appadurai A. Modernity at Large. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996. Print.
- Southworth, M. $ Ben-Joseph, E. (1995). “Streets standards and the shaping of suburbia.” Nagourney, Adam. (January 2015). “Century later, the ‘Chinatown’ Water Feud Ebbs”. The New York Times.