In the Gruen Effect, an architect's life, work and critical humor become a means to make sense of the cities we live in today. The Viennese architect Victor Gruen is considered the father of the shopping mall and the pedestrian zone. His ideas about urban planning, both influential and abused, have led to cities that serve the new gods of consumption. By tracing Victor Gruen’s path from prewar Vienna to fifties America and back to Europe in 1968, the documentary explores the themes and translation errors that have come to define urban life.