And it was in fact New York that inspired her to write TDLGAC, as well as Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. She believed, and wrote, that city planning was actually damaging to the cities that were being worked on; she saw it as destructive to them, and bad for the inhabitants, as families were pushed out of homes by expressway construction, and small businesses were constantly being shut down. The novel discusses how bankers might overlook a thriving, growing neighborhood, labeling it to be a slum, and refusing to give loans to those who wanted to buy homes there, causing the neighborhood to lose new residents and slow, or even stop, its progress.
Jane underscores the need for diversity in her novel, how change is necessary for a city to be successful, and particularly focuses on slumming vs. unslumming. She believed that city planners, rather than focusing on tearing down "slum neighborhoods" and building housing projects that weren't attractive to residents should focus on bettering the so-called slums, improving them and the quality of life for those who lived there, as well as increasing the population density. And to do this, she brings the idea of sidewalks into the equation.
Jacobs strongly believed in the power of sidewalks, both as a physical commodity and as a metaphor. In TDLGAC, she writes that sidewalks are important not only as a method of people to get around safely, but to boost social interaction, bring people in contact with businesses, increase public character, as a place for children to play safely with adult supervision. She writes that for sidewalks to be successful in all of these aspects, they need to be in a safe, trustworthy place, and the way to create such an environment was to create clear lines between public and private space and have the sidewalks be in constant use.Ultimately, Jacobs' novel contradicts the urban renewal theory that was championed by Robert Moses. Rather than "a city for traffic", Jacobs believed in a "city for the people", and it was this idea that made The Death and Life of Great American Cities so inspirational to activists and city planners alike.
I like how this post provides another perspective on life during this period of American history. Although Moses' urban theory was prominent in the past, your post seems to imply that in Jacobs' views became relevant in her generation. You stated that Jacobs disagreed with the models of big cities such as New York. Do you have any specific examples of how Jacobs' new views shaped city plans going forward?
ReplyDeleteI liked your post. I think that this is a very similar theory to the theory of gentrification, which effects thousands and thousands of people.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting article! I wonder what Jacobs' reaction to the rise in 1950's suburbs and planned communities was. The communities were very different from cities, and represent many of the social ideals that Jacobs' sidewalk argument was based on.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is an interesting post because it highlights the other side of the 50s that people don't tend to remember that of the other America. Although many people were living in prosperity there will still many living in poverty and in urban slums and that it wasn't all new shiny cars and levittowns. I also think that these critiques are as important as ever as often its the poorer and disadvantaged communities in cities that are the first to be bought up and developed just like the dogpatch in SF.
ReplyDeleteI liked your analysis of the book; The Death and Life of Great American Cities seems very interesting! I have never considered cities from Jacobs’s perspective and found her idea regarding improving instead of tearing down “slum neighborhoods” very interesting. How do you think her ideas influenced the development of American cities?
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