Classic Affordable & Public Housing Films DVD: 1930s - 1940s Affordable Home & House Building & Construction, Home Buying, Veteran & Military Housing Crisis, & Low Income Community Housing Development & Projects History Pictures Films

Description

This compilation features films about the housing industry and public housing programs. The films explore a variety of American and Chilean housing problems, ranging from inadequate housing for WWII veterans and the poor to the post-WWI housing boom. Table Of Contents: (1) Better Housing (1935) - This housing propaganda piece explores the work and benefits of the National Housing Act which was part of The New Deal - 4 Minutes (2) Housing in Chile: One Government's Plan to Provide Better Homes (1943) - A spectacular film about life, poverty, urban growth and government in Santiago, Chile. This documentary film follows, Emanuel Blanco, a barber and father of three, whose family is forced to live in a slum due to a lack of affordable housing. The film focuses on housing developments and the importance of affordable housing in developing a healthy and happy working class society - 18 Minutes (3) Problems of Housing (1944) - This vintage Jam Handy film presents some contemporary issues concerning problems in the home such as heat loss, pests, water and lighting - 11 Minutes (4) Homes for Veterans (1946) - When the boys came home from battle, there was a bit of a housing crisis, as many soldiers could not find suitable places to live. This movie covers some of the possible solutions to this problem - 26 Minutes (5) A Place to Live (1948) - This film looks at the issue of housing situations for the elderly in the post war economic boom. So many of the elderly during this period had struggled through an economic depression that didn't allow them to properly save for retirement - 16 Minutes (6) For the Living (1949) - Public housing in New York City is discussed in this film, which contains vivid footage of NYC, including many of the areas worst neighborhoods and slums - 21 Minutes

Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2008-10-18
Summary: "An eclectic and fascinating collection"

. . . of documentary and propaganda films about housing issues during the 1930s and 1940s. No doubt rescued from some dusty archives somewhere, these films show the views and concerns about housing 60 and 70 years ago.

Titles include:
1: Better Housing, 1935, on the New Deal's National Housing Act, 4 min.
2: Housing in Chile: One Government's Plan to Provide Better Homes, 1943, on housing the poor in Santiago, Chile, 18 min.
3: Problems of Housing, 1944, about technical housing issues, 10 min.
4: Homes for Veterans, 1946, on housing issues of war veterans, 26 min.
5: A Place to Live, 1948, on post WWII housing for the elderly, 16 min.
6: For the Living, 1949, about public housing in New York City; 21 min.

Definitely for a specialized audience, this DVD could be put to good use in history or urban history classes.