Jane Jacobs, The Super Villain?

Jane Jacobs stars as an evil, time-travelling super villain in an off-Broadway play called 'Boozy', which offers a warped look at the life of Robert Moses.

1 minute read

May 31, 2005, 7:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Written and directed by Alex Timbers, Boozy takes a warped look at the life of Robert Moses, the master builder who shaped New York City unchallenged from the 1930s until opinion turned against him after the demolition of Penn Station and his attempt to build an expressway through SoHo and Greenwich Village in the '60s. As chairman of the Joint Committee to Stop the Lower Manhattan Expressway, the American-born Jacobs was one of Moses' most vocal critics and was instrumental in bringing him down.

...But, in Boozy -- which purports to be a play created by the descendants of Swiss architect Le Corbusier -- Moses gets a tongue-in-cheek rehabilitation. "We re-envisioned him as a Messianic action hero who can create public housing at the flick of a wrist," explains Timbers, a Yale graduate... 'And then we took Jane Jacobs, who is really this beneficent, wonderful community activist ... whose ideas about planning are really what are today the ideal of conscientious planning, and we turned her into a time-travelling, globe-trotting super villain.' "

Thanks to Chris Steins

Monday, May 30, 2005 in The National Post

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing

The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

33 minutes ago - Strong Towns

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

1 hour ago - Smart Cities Dive

Green Skid Row mural satirizing city limit sign in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents

The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.

2 hours ago - Los Angeles Public Press