There Is Still Time

University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario: 16mm.
"Lady Jackson opens the film by saying that all the waterways of the world could be cleaned up at a cost of three billion dollars per year for a total of ten years. She suggests that Quebec City, in 1976, is making fatal errors by tearing down old buildings and constructing skyscrapers. While she is talking, shots of old buildings being torn down are juxtaposed with shots of high-rise buildings and parking lots. She says that human buildings should be built to a human scale, and that the history of a city should not be wiped out. She claims that skyscrapers introduce discontinuity and ugliness to Quebec City. Next, shots of land, water, and air pollution are shown while Lady Jackson recounts Quebec City's clearing up of its water pollution. She provides possible solutions to the problems of land and air pollution and recommends the extensive use of land surveys for all provinces so that arable land will not be built upon. Following this, she discusses the faults of the commercial land market, and proposes solutions. She says that Quebec City could be a shining example of what the cities of the world should be like, while shots of different parts of the city are shown. In conclusion, she states that the first priority in a community should be to enforce the feeling of community, by preserving old buildings and maintaining a sense of human scale. She states that we need to clean up pollution and that control of the land market is a prerequisite of beautiful cities. Quebec City still has a chance of remaining a beautiful city, and she ends the film by stating that she hopes its people will work toward that goal."