Remembering Urban Renewal on Jane Jacobs's Birthday

Charles Marohn follows the prompting of a question posed to him at the recent Congress for the New Urbanism about what it means to be a conservative, especially while participating in the process of planning and designing cities. To Marohn, being a conservative isn't about resisting change, but to "to have a healthy respect for history, for the wisdom of the ages and for knowledge gained through trial and error."

Marohn segues  that point to a consideration of the way history currently considers urban renewal. According to Marohn, "Wikipedia says that Urban Renewal has 'had both successes and failures.'  Maybe that sounds acceptable to you -- you think it depends on the batting average -- but when you consider that it was a big government experiment on human lives, neighborhood cohesion and economic ecosystems, the burden for showing success should be dramatically higher than it is."

Marohn notes that participants in the event launched an Urban Renewal Remembrance Day "and fittingly picked Jane Jacobs' birthday -- May 4 -- as the proper day for the occasion." Marohn also suggests "that anyone with an AICP should be required to go to an Urban Renewal site once a year, lay a wreath and make a statement of penitence to reinforce their own humility in the face of complexity."