Jarrett Murphy reviews The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs" by Roberta Brandes Gratz, and concludes that it is a nuanced interpretation of the classic showdown.
Murphy says that the book features Gratz herself front and center, relating the planning debates of the past to those of the present. While she is unabashedly on the side of public process, she sees that some large projects need to get built for the good of the whole. But as Murphy writes, "the greatest engine of resurgence has been small-scale community efforts":
"The public, writes Gratz, 'has come to understand their right and value in being part of the process that leads to change. This is vintage Jane. Public process, on the other hand, was anathema to Moses.' She adds later: 'If you accept the centrality of the idea of people being the best engine of change, then what is critical is removing the kind of impediments that thwart the capacity of the people.'"
Read the full story: Moses, Jacobs And You: The Battle For Gotham
'Citizen Jane' Sets the Battle Lines for the Future of Cities
Coinciding with the 101st anniversary of Jane Jacobs's birth, a documentary film showing in select theaters around the country recounts the history between Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses, and the ideas that forced their struggle.
Reviews for 'Citizen Jane: Battle for the City'
Two publications likely to find an audience with people sympathetic to the cause of Jane Jacobs reviewed the latest film about her political battles with Robert Moses for the soul of New York.
100 Years After Her Birth, Jane Jacobs Might Not Recognize New York
Sam Hall Kaplan reviews "Eyes on Street: The Life of Jane Jacobs" and offers insight gained from personal experience with the "Saint of City Planning."
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
A ‘shady’ deal: Chicagoans rally against planned Amtrak maintenance facility
The $900 million facility would allow Amtrak to maintain entire trains in one building, which the company says will reduce delays.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello