Jane Jacobs
Feature
The mantra “eyes on the street" focuses on the physical and functional traits of urban fabric but fails to explain the high crime rate of my Jacobsian neighbourhood. Time to reconsider, look for explanations, and exchange mantras for research.
Robert Steuteville reviews Cities Alive, by Michael Mehaffy, describing the newly released book as "an important analysis for urbanism."
Public Square: A CNU Journal
The first study to make an attempt at quantifying the value of "eyes on street"—an idea most eloquently described by Jane Jacobs—offers reason to support a mix of uses, with businesses operating later in the evening.
Next City
A summary of last week's events in Seattle: CNU 25 and ULI, written by Hazel Borys.
PlaceShakers
Feature
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.
In honor of the pioneering urbanist, who would have been 101 years old this week, citizens are organizing "Jane's Walks" in cities across the globe.
The Boston Globe
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.
NPR
Feature
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."
New York magazine offers a long reflection on the shifting lessons offered by Jane Jacobs after a year of new books and a re-emergence into the public eye.
New York
Blog post
The great urbanist may have offered a flawed theory of urban origins, but that doesn't mean her idea is completely worthless.
Without children at the center of activity, the urban neighborhoods of today offer little compared to the ideals expressed by Jane Jacobs, according to this strongly worded critique of contemporary urbanism.
The American Conservative
Today would have been Jane Jacobs's 100th birthday. Here are a few recommended reads to help commemorate the occasion.
Strong Towns
The Planetizen managing editor answers questions about some of the post consistently befuddling grammar questions that arise when writing and talking about planning.
Planetizen April 1st Edition
The creators of A Marvelous Order—an opera based on the lives of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs—have released a video providing a first peek at the songs and ideas behind the opera.
A Marvelous Order
The $5.46 billion sale last October for the private 83 acres of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village barely topped the prior world record set for the same property in 2006 and preserved 5,000 apartments for middle income renters.
The Real Deal
Our typical images of the city often fail us. What we need is a new one that best captures the complexity and beauty of urban life.
Thriving Cities Blog
Yes, the world of urban planning will soon get a star turn of epic proportions—as the focus of an opera currently in development and scheduled to debut in New York City in 2017.
Governing
California lawmakers have approved a bill that establishes oversight of elected officials over planning decisions of development corporations, such as that in downtown San Diego.
UrbDeZine
While visiting Paris, San Diego landscape architect David McCullough pondered his own new world city's identity and concluded, counter-intuitively, his city's (and all cities') identity is defined by its diversity.
UrbDeZine
Some think of May 4 as Star Wars day, others remember May 4 as the birthday of Jane Jacobs. Charles Marohn suggests that May 4 should now be known as "Urban Renewal Remembrance Day."
Strong Towns
