108
THERE MUST
BE EYES ON
T H E S T R E E T
JANE JACOBS (1916–2006)
J
ane Jacobs spent her
working life advancing a
distinct vision of the city—in
particular focusing on what makes
a successful urban community.
Her ideas were formed from her
observations of urban life in the
neighborhood of West Greenwich
Village, New York, where she lived
for more than 30 years.
Jacobs was opposed to the
large-scale changes to city life that
were occurring in New York during
the 1960s, led by city planner and
her archrival Howard Moses; these
included slum-clearance projects
and the building of high-rise
developments. At the heart of her
vision is the idea that urban life
should be a vibrant and rich affair,
whereby people are able to interact
with one another in dense and
exciting urban environments. She
prefers chaos to order, walking to
driving, and diversity to uniformity.
For Jacobs, urban communities
are organic entities—complex,
integrated ecosystems—that
should be left to grow and to
change by themselves and not
be subject to the grand plans of
so-called experts and technocrats.
The best judges of how a city
should be—and how it shouldA good city street has
buildings that face outward...It needs a steady traffic
of people on the sidewalks......and a mix of business
and residential properties....and create activity for
people to watch and enjoy....to increase community
and security...There must be eyes
on the street.IN CONTEXT
FOCUS
Urban communityKEY DATES
1887 Ferdinand Tönnies’
Gemeinschaft und
Gesellschaft stirs sociological
interest in the bonds of
community in urban society.From the 1950s Inner city
neighborhoods in Western
cities experience waves of
pressure from city planners.2000 US sociologist Robert D.
Putnam argues in Bowling
Alone that community values
have eroded since the 1960s.2002 In The Rise of The
Creative Class, US sociologist
and economist Richard Florida
cites Jacobs as an influence on
his theories of creativity.2013 Increased use of camera
surveillance in US cities
after 9/11 results in the
identification of suspects
wanted for the Boston
Marathon bombings.