Educational Media Reviews Online

“Make the city your city; be kind to yourself; keep it green and simple” are the themes of this serial documentary which ran on American Public Television. Host Wanda Urbanska conducts on site interviews in major American cities about land use, energy conservation and urban efforts towards the “green earth” movement. Projects and site visits by Urbanska include green rooftop gardens, city farms on vacant lots, planning natural protected habitats, green business strategies, and requiring green standards for all public buildings.

Urbanska then interviews a young Chicago family with two small children who live the “green” lifestyle.

As people move back to the cities, they are able to walk to work, support local markets and partake in communal gardening. The Lewandowski family in Chicago does just that. They do not own a car but bike, take public transportation or “car share.” Jane Lewandowski picks her own vegetables at the community garden, shops locally, prepares the family meals from scratch, uses canvas shopping bags, cloth diapers and napkins; conserves energy by washing clothes in cold water, and line dries laundry in the apartment bathroom. The public library is a place to share ideas, find books, and community events/classes.

Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska is a professional quality production and is recommended for all audiences. It offers two companion books on living the simple lifestyle. For more information see the Simple Living web site.