[2][3][4][5] The documentary discusses how cities are designed, and it features interviews with urban planners and architects, such as Oscar Niemeyer and Jan Gehl.

[1][3][6] To promote the documentary, Hustwit commissioned a set of four limited edition posters based on four themes related to urban design.

[8] Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, calling it "an undertaking on an impressive scale" while suggesting that the documentary could have used more interviews of ordinary people.

Scott compared the film to "a really good class taught by a team of enthusiastic professors," although he noted "a distinct bias in favor of [Jane Jacobs]-influenced new urbanism and against other approaches to city planning.

"[3] TimeOut, meanwhile, called Urbanized "gorgeously photographed" while praising the film's interviews and Hustwit's ability "to make even the most banal of cityscapes appear appealingly utopian.