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Air Traffic Control On any given day, at least 60,000 commercial flights crisscross the U.S. on the safest system of aerial highways in the world. In this program, the network of constant navigational communication that forms those highways is explored: air traffic control. The video goes inside airport flight towers and the country’s busiest regional center, New York’s TRACON, or terminal radar approach control. Air traffic controllers, pilots, FAA officials, the editors of Aviation Week, and the CEO of Continental Airlines are interviewed; all agree that despite its outstanding record, the system is stretched to its limits and is quickly approaching gridlock. A Discovery Channel Production. (51 minutes, color) (C)2000 VHS12082
DVD12082
129.95
129.95
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London War, destruction, fire, disease—London has fallen victim to numerous crises over its 2,000-year history. At the center of it all is the River Thames, whose tidal dangers threaten flooding even to this day. But thanks to phenomenal feats of engineering and construction, the city has consistently been able to return to top form. This program examines how devastation in London has inspired people of vision to revolutionize the city’s architecture, from Roman settlement to the center of the British Empire…and beyond. London-based engineering designer Chris Wise and architecture historians Simon Thurley and Vaughan Hart, among others, reveal how great edifices helped this small island nation become a world power. A Discovery Channel Production. (46 minutes, color) (C)2004 VHS33603
DVD33603
129.95
129.95
Nowhere Fast! Welcome to life in the slow lane. This program examines how cities and suburbs are dealing with ever-increasing traffic congestion as transportation consultant Alan Pisarski and experts from the Reason Foundation, The Heritage Foundation, the Progressive Policy Institute, Houston TranStar, and Caltrans debate the best ways to move forward. Suburb-to-suburb commuting, infrastructure expansion, and induced demand are addressed, and initiatives such as HOT lanes, congestion pricing, wireless motorist messaging systems, Flexcars, and Boston’s monumental reengineering effort, the Big Dig, are presented. A Discovery Channel Production. (46 minutes, color) (C)2003 VHS32817
DVD32817
89.95
89.95
Paris This program investigates the crucial role engineering has played in the 2,000-year history of the French capital. Eugene Houseman spearheaded the evolution of Paris in the late 18th century, producing the infrastructure, wide boulevards, and grand buildings that give the city its singular charm. Top French historians, engineers, and archaeologists analyze his work as well as the complex feats of the pre-Houseman years, from the construction of King Philippe’s wall and the innovative methods of purifying the Seine in the 13th century to the "revolt of the dead" in 1785. The program also examines the existing Parisian structures at the time of the French Revolution. A Discovery Channel Production. (46 minutes, color) (C)2004 VHS33604
DVD33604
129.95
129.95
Understanding Cities For the first time in civilization’s history, more people live in cities than outside of them. This program goes around the world to look at cities past and present with a focus on issues of transportation, electricity, light, water, sewage, and trash. The program examines differences between cities that have evolved over time and planned cities, such as Brazil’s capital and utopian experiment, Brasília, and Mexico’s ancient Teotihuacán, the first planned city in Mesoamerica. Cameras explore the construction of a new line in London’s Underground and a new aqueduct in New York City. Portland is presented as a paradigm of modern urban planning. A Discovery Channel Production. (53 minutes, color) (C)1996 VHS29016
DVD29016
89.95
89.95
We Built This City Series London and Paris are today world-class cities and centers of commerce. But it was not always so. Each city had humble beginnings—each on the verge of urban implosion many times over—until monumental engineering feats secured their celebrated reputations. Mixing documentary footage with computer reconstructions, this two-part series provides valuable insight into the genesis of these two cultural centers. A Discovery Channel Production. 2-part series, 46 minutes each. The Series Includes:
London , Paris  
VHS33602
DVD33602
229.95
229.95

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