N
o onecanfindwhatwill
workforourcitiesby
lookingat...suburban
gardencities,
manipulatingscale
models,orinventing
dreamcities.You’vegottogetoutand
walk.”SowroteJaneJacobsin1958.
Gettingoutandwalkinginspiredheridea
ofthecity– andstillinspiresustorethink
thespacesinwhichwelive,workandplay.
WhenshemovedtoNewYorkin1935,
sherelishedexploringitsneighbourhoods
andwalkingitsstreetsandsidewalks,
untilshefoundwhereshewantedtolive- GreenwichVillage.Workingasa
journalist,herexperiencesbeganfinding
theirwayintoherwritings.Post-war,it
wasanerawhenplannerswereinlove
withgrandstatements:tearingdown
higgledy-piggledyhistoricstreetsand
replacingthemwithorderlyzonedareas,
withresidentsorganisedintohighrises.
Jacobsbelievedthatwhatworkedonpaper
wouldn’tnecessarilyworkwithpeople.
WhatJacobsespeciallylovedaboutcities
andhowtheyworkedwastheirmix.
Citizens,schools,shops,parks– theblend
wasuniquetoeachplace.Theyworked
best– theshopskeptbusyandthestreets
safe– whentheyworkedtogether.Soit
shouldbeitsuserswhoshoulddecide
howthingschanged.Inher 1961 book,
TheDeathandLifeofGreatAmericanCities,
sheadvocateddecisionsbeingmadelocally.
Shewrote,“Citieshavethecapabilityof
providingsomethingforeverybody,only
because,andonlywhen,theyarecreated
byeverybody”.Writtenfromthepoint
ofviewofa dedicatedcitydweller,nota
planner;animpassionedcitizennotan
academic,thebookhita nervewiththe
publicandprofessionalsalike.
Jacobsisespeciallyinspiringbecause
shedidn’tjustwritethetheory,butalso
tookdirectaction.Rousingherlocal
community,shewasarrestedinthe1960s
protestingthedemolitionofpartsofSoho,
GreenwichVillageandLittleItalytomake
wayfora highway.Andshesucceeded;they
arestillcrammedfulloflocal,historical
character(you’llfinda blockrenamedJane
JacobsWayinherhonour).Shecontinued
campaigninguntilherdeathin2006.
Jacobs’feet-firstphilosophycontinues
toinspire.ThefirstweekendofMaysees
community-runJaneJacobsWalkstake
placeincitiesaroundtheworldtomark
whatwouldhavebeenherbirthday;seeif
there’sonenearyou– orfindouthowto
setyourown– atjanejacobswalk.org.
It’snothardtoputsomeofJacobs’
valuseintoaction:takea walkaround
yourlocalcommunity– stop,takea proper
lookatwhat’sgoingon,andthinkabout
theroleyouplayinit.“Cities have the capabilityof
providing something for everybody
when they are createdby everybody”Words:FRANCESAMBLERJANEJACOBS
believedthatcities
wereallabouttheir
people:thatthe
bestcitiesserved
theirpeople, and
thebestpeople
servedtheircities.NOT A TOWN PLANNER BUT A PASSIONATE CITIZEN, JANE
JACOBS HAD A HUGE IMPACT ON HOW WE SHAPE OUR CITIES“
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