Subdivide and Conquer: A Modern Western

"Oh give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above...." From what I can gather from this wonderful production, both Cole Porter and Roy Rogers would spin in their graves if they could see what's happening to the American West: up to one-third of its private ranch land up for sale, 50,000 square miles of open land erased in 50 years time, and 4,000 malls sitting empty nationwide. Termed the second conquest of the West--the first being the vanquishing of the American Indian--the sprawl experienced by the states from Montana down to New Mexico and Arizona has resulted in ecological and sociological chaos to both urban and rural centers, not to mention assaulting our cultural myths about the West and its "wide-open spaces"! Though fully half of this part of the U.S. belongs to the American people in the form of mountains, national parks, forests, and deserts, the private lands are, in some cases, being developed right up to the edges of the public lands. After examining the causes of sprawl and its effects on our sense of community, this program offers realistic remedies, and reveals examples of sound public policy and good land-use planning, including redeveloping currently-empty buildings and areas, updating zoning codes, constructing integrated transit systems, and enacting "greenway" laws. For its first-rate script and score, great production values, and useful suggestions, I highly recommend that you "head this one up and move it on out" to your video shelves! Aud: H, C, P. (K. Glaser)