City Planning Classic Ahead Of Its Time In Environmental Efficiency (VIDEO)

Progressive Book Club

In the annals of urban design and city planning, no book holds a higher place than The Death and Life of Great American Cities by the great writer-activist Jane Jacobs. The 1961 work, a scorching indictment of the car-centric urban development that then dominated (Hello, Robert Moses), takes up a simple question: What makes cities work as places to live? What makes them vibrant, varied, enjoyable -- livable? In crystalline prose that won her a readership far beyond specialists, and with many a colorful anecdote and example, Jacobs argued that the answer lay in a half-dozen or so key elements: mixed-use residential and commercial space -- apartments, stores, coffee shops, dry cleaners, bars, and restaurants all in one block; mixed-income residents; smaller blocks; fewer cars; small parks in neighborhoods, not set off from them; and above all, population density -- a lot of people in a relatively small space. Put it all together and you end up with something that looks a lot like Manhattan, and even more so Greenwich Village, which was in fact Jacobs' model of a vibrant neighborhood.

The Death and Life of American Cities has long been a touchstone for urbanists. But it also works as a seminal environmental text. At least that's what the New Yorker's David Owen argues, pretty convincingly, in his recent book Green Metropolis: What the City Can Teach the Country About Sustainability. Owen's crazy-till-you-think-about-it claim is that New York City is -- by far -- the greenest community in the United States. New Yorkers drive less, and walk and take public transit more, than people in any other city. They live on top of each other in smaller spaces that take less energy to heat. How come? Because New York, especially the island of Manhattan, forces them to be green. Population density is higher than anywhere else in the country. It's hell to have a car, so many make do without; space between people and buildings isn't really an option; residential and commercial development are mixed up, so people can often get where they need to go on foot. In other words, the very qualities that make New York City a model of urban vitality for Jacobs make it a model of green living -- a model other cities ought to start emulating if we're to stand a chance against climate change. So, for Owen, though Jacobs barely mentions "the environment" in her masterwork, The Death and Life of American Cities has more to teach us about sustainable development than any number of explicitly "green" books.

In this Progressive Book Club video Owen explains how Jacobs' book influenced his own thinking, and why it's more relevant today than ever.

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Comments

[indiana46278]

Was Jacobs "ahead of her time"? That's a pretty small selfish of history. The environmental movement didn't start with Al Gore and the cities movement certainly didn't start with whatever new little streetcar project you might be thinking of.

The sad truth is that Jane Jacobs was right on time. And when she wasnt' writing books she was actually out there battling projects she thought were stupid, like the lower manhattan expressway. This is why I say "the sad truth". For Jacobs to be "ahead of her time" would mean that NOW is her moment, and I'm afraid it's not. I'm afraid it's passed. She was arguing these things when there was still time to do something about them.

[plunk]

I recommend reading 'The Power Broker,' the autobiography about Robert Mose which takes you from his 'class system' education in England to his meticulous, methodical destruction of Manhattans public transportation system.

His forty years of 'automobile worship,' intentional destruction of immigrant integration neighborhoods and his derailing of projects designed by others to improve life on a crowded island is a chilling tale.

This is not a dry factual read rather a page turner that documents how the unchecked power of a single individual affected the lives of generations that followed. NYC is still suffering the results of Robert Moses.

[judithdschwartz]

Thanks for this. People are looking at Jane Jacobs' work on the economy as well. As with urban planning, she takes a counterintuitive approach and offers a powerful critique of why many conventional strategies are misguided--and offers an alternative. Here's a piece I did on this topic: http://www.miller-mccune.com/business_economics/what-jane-jacobs-can-teach-us-about-the-economy-1537

Judith D. Schwartz
Website: www.judithdschwartz.com
Blog: http://litadventuresinpod.blogspot.com

[brettrobbins]

"New York City is -- by far -- the greenest community in the United States. New Yorkers drive less, and walk and take public transit more, than people in any other city."

Then why are the streets always clogged with cars, especially taxis? Just because a large proportion of New Yorkers are forced not to drive doesn't mean there aren't still enough of those who do drive to ruin it for those who don't and make walking in NYC anything but a carbon-mon­oxide-free experience.