Jane Jacobs was an avid writer and a fervent activist in getting her opinions heard. She single handedly influenced the way people saw urban planning without any traditional schooling in architecture. Her lack of schooling gave a critics a big platform on which to attack her credentials, however this did not deter her from what she set out to accomplish. She was relentless in attacking current city planning principles and was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Although she had her fair share of critics, she persevered with her clear vision of city planning, leaving a great legacy. In this paper, we will begin with her history and motive for speaking out on urban city planning, as well as focus on what city planning was characterized as before Jane Jacobs came into the picture to reinvent it. The paper will focus on her main points in her two most recognized and controversial books – The Death and Life of American Great Cities and Cities and the Wealth of Nations: Principles of Economic Life – as well as her critics’ responses to this new take on city planning and rebuilding. We will close with her achievements and impact she left behind. Jane Jacobs was born on May 4, 1914 and left quite …show more content…
the legacy in a field that she had no traditional schooling in. She grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and later moved to New York with her sister in 1935, during the Great Depression. This was a time when it was extremely difficult to find a job, especially as a woman who only had a high school diploma in hand and a dream to write. So during her first few years of living in the city she worked as a freelance writer. This allowed her to explore the city and experience life as a true city dweller. She was able to see what she loved about the city as well as what she disliked. As a freelance writer she wrote a series of essays on the city, selling them to Cue magazine, Sunday Herald Tribune, and Vogue. In 1938, although she despised school, she decided to pursue a more formal education at Columbia’s College of General Studies, taking classes that particularly interested her. She left Columbia without a degree, however she was able to get a job with Iron Age magazine, where she was able to write an article about the declining economy in her hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. During this time she was a key player in a letter-writing campaign to persuade the War Production Board to involve Scranton in wartime production. Her influence persuaded a manufacturing company to build a new defense plant. Shortly after she left Iron Age to work for the government as a feature writer for the Office of War Information, and then later for the State Department’s Magazine Branch, Amerika Illustrated. This magazine gave her the freedom to write about things that she would later be able to incorporate into her future books, such as school planning, slum clearance and American architecture as a whole. However, during this time she was being accused as a union organizer. She asserted that she was only a member for reasons of “wages, particularly equalization of pay between men and women for similar work,” and not for “anything to do with political ideologies.” At this time, America was experiencing unequalled prosperity and as a result there was a great influx of people moving into the suburbs and out of the cities. In 1949 Congress passed the Housing Act which extended federal money to build more housing units as well as provide funding for clearance of slums. This had a huge effect on American cities and with this new funding, city planners were drawing up sketches of high rises and pinpointing locations that should be bulldozed for these new buildings. High rises seemed extremely logical to city planners because it allowed for an increased concentration of people in the cities while limiting the square footage; instead of building out, they built up. During this time, Jane Jacobs was witnessing first hand, the changes happening in the city. She was opposed to the fact that these new developments were ending active community life in the streets. In May 1952, Amerika closed its office and Jane Jacobs began working for the Architectural Forum, which sparked her interest in the ecology of cities. Here, she was able to explore her ideas of city planning and urban architecture in New York in way that would greatly influence her future path in life. As a young mother living in New York’s Greenwich Village during the postwar period, in addition to the experience gained while writing for the Architectural Forum, Jane Jacobs was able to develop her ideas that are famously expressed her book. It proved to be a great decision to take the job opportunity with the Architectural Forum because after contributing to more than seventy-five publications she was ready to start her new journey writing her first and one of her most famous books Death and Life of American Cities. Without a college degree and no real formal education in urban city planning, she plunged full force into the male-dominated field and had the courage to write a whole book about it, as well as a few more later in the future. Through direct observation, she became inspired and was able to develop her new concepts for her new book. As she began to write her first book Life and Death of American Cities, her bold ideas made her job as an architectural editor for the Architectural Forum very difficult. She had strong opinions about the papers she was editing which got in the way of her doing her job. Thus, she left the Architectural Forum to focus on writing her book as an individual, without the influence and association of this American magazine. The people of New York saw exactly what she was about when she was being interviewed for a New York Times review focusing on what direction current city planning was headed towards.
This was the first time she publicly spoke out her opinions of city planning and needless to say her unwavering opinions were under fire as she spoke about her new ideas that would change the way urban city planning was going. During this time she also jumped onboard to join a letter writing campaign to protest a city plan that called for a highway to run through the center of Washington Square. Jacobs was in disbelief and would not let this happen. She wrote a strongly worded letter to Mayor Robert Wagner, stating that this new development is making it impossible for the city to be
habitable. Jane Jacobs’s vision was clearly organized in her book Death of American Cities. With a title like this, it was sure to cause some controversy. In this book she makes a statement in the first page that sums up her purpose for writing this book perfectly. She states, “This book is an attack on current city planning and rebuilding. It is also, and mostly, an attempt to introduce new principles of city planning and rebuilding […].” Expanding on this purpose she challenged the idea of decentralization, most notably made known by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City. In attacking these ideas, she stated that Americans want to live in lower densities. She introduced new principles into city planning. She argued the new urban plans were not in line with what most city dwellers need. She states the reasons why traditional approaches to city planning are decaying and the importance in changing these approaches. She condemns the practice of urban renewal, stating that it destroys the life of the city as well as the residents’ home. Her opinion on what urban city planning should consist of is stated clearly in the following sentence, taken from her book. “This ubiquitous principle is the need of cities for a most intricate and close-grained diversity of uses that give each other constant mutual support, both economically and socially. The components of this diversity can differ enormously, but they must supplement each other in certain concrete ways (Jacobs, 1961, p.14). This is her main approach to city planning in which she believes that diversity is key to planning a city that will flourish and in writing this book she describes the importance of a city neighborhood and what city planners should take into account when planning. She based her opinions solely on observation and induction, which made her an easy target for criticism. However, the fact that she was an outsider looking in gave her an advantage over expert city planners in her area. She was a pair of fresh eyes that was able to see the wrong direction city planning was taking and in this was able to shed new light on what was being constantly overlooked by the experts in the area. These expert city planners that went to school to get a formal education often overlooked the big picture. They focus on deduction reasoning without the effect of how their designs will contribute to the community, or this is at least how Jane Jacobs saw it. Jacobs focused on community. She focused on how cities really work and how the modernist approach to city planning lacked this clear understanding. She argues that they were neglecting the richness of city life and all the factors contributed to this. Using examples of her New York residence in Greenwich Village, to illustrate her points, she is able to add strength to her argument. Her book is divided into four parts: The Peculiar Nature of Cities, The Conditions for City Diversity, Forces of Decline and Regeneration, and Different Tactics. They will be described in more detail below. In the first five chapters of the book, Jane Jacobs explores her understanding of the city through sidewalks, neighborhood parks, and city neighborhoods. She explains the purpose behind these key elements that are incorporated in every city. She states that yes, sidewalks carry pedestrian traffic however, there is a lot more to it. They are “contributors to public safety, as places where neighbors meet each other and civic conversation ensues, and as sites for what one might call the elementary moral education of children.” As a side note, during the time she was writing this part of the book, a lot of families were moving to the suburbs, seeking a safer environment to raise children. In mentioning the importance of having sidewalks, she confronts this issue. She states that “there must be eyes upon the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the street.” “Street eyes” is something she repeated throughout this part of book which stressed the importance of having lots of people in the city to keep the streets safer. Criminals are much less likely to strike if there are a lot of witnesses around. She also argues that parks are only as good as the neighborhoods they are in and the people that fill them. Unlike what orthodox city planners believe, she states that parks mirror the environment, and are unable to stabilize the environment in which they are built. Mainstream city planners believed that adding a park to any environment would strengthen the surroundings as well as automatically raise the standard of living in the area. Jacobs clearly disagreed with this. Parks should be strategically placed where city life is overflowing with different varieties of people. She describes what makes a successful park, and uses this point to tie into her original thesis statement- diversity. This, in Jacobs’ opinion, is what should be a key component in adding new parks to neighborhoods. Having diversity in a park is vital and parks will only be as successful as the neighborhood they occupy. She closes this section by stating the detrimental effects associated with isolated street neighborhoods. In her opinion, street neighborhoods should be interconnected and a continuous network of lively, diversified culture. In the second part of the book she states the conditions for city diversity. This is where she argues the importance of having a social, cultural, and economic diversity for the success of a city. She also addresses several misconceptions about diversity and its negative connotation when associated with cities. “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” This is a very important point she makes. This is where she diminishes the value of the current city planner and argues that what makes a diverse city is not dependent on the way city planners design it, but based on the people that live there. In this section, she states four points that will produce city diversity. Firstly she states that the district must serve more than one primary function. Having more than one function, preferably more than two, within a district will ensure that people will be outdoors as well as take part in the different aspects of function the city district has to offer. Secondly, she emphasizes the importance of city blocks being short. This will provide opportunities for people to turn corners more frequently and encourage more people to walk. Thirdly, the district must have buildings of differing age, size, and style. She also mentions how they should be “close-grained.” Lastly, and most importantly, she states that city districts must be densely packed with people. This dense concentration of people will not only keep the city safer, but will also contribute to the flourishing of small businesses in the area. These four conditions are necessary for a city to reach its full potential. In mentioning what very well may be the most important points made in this book she emphasizes the importance of a great city embodying community. This sense of community is crucial in developing cities and is what contributes to an extraordinary life in American cities.
Besides being an anti-imperialist, she was largely for equality and that everyone could participate in important situations and issues. She was part of many women’s leagues and was the founder of the Hull House. The Hull Houses gave a life to the poor and immigrants who struggled in a competitive world. It gave them education, a home, health care, social circumstances, and safety. She was never married, so she spent her life dedicated to promoting peace. She believed that war, force, and violence only brought pain, struggle,and problems for family. She saw working together instead of using force was way more powerful and successful. War and violence only hindered the world and created a loss in compassion and kindness. At the Chicago Liberty Meeting, which protested imperialism in the Philippines, Jane was the only woman to speak. “To ‘protect the weak’ has always been the excuse of the ruler and tax-gatherer, the chief, the king, the baron; and now, at last, of ‘the white man’” (Addams 1899). The United States often didn’t listen to the anti-imperialists but they continued to peacefully fight for
It is well known that slavery was a horrible event in the history of the United States. However, what isn't as well known is the actual severity of slavery. The experiences of slave women presented by Angela Davis and the theories of black women presented by Patricia Hill Collins are evident in the life of Harriet Jacobs and show the severity of slavery for black women.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, tells the story of a woman struggling with her insanity. While the insanity is obvious, where it comes from is allusive to the reader. It is possible that her environment could spark the changes in her mental state, but her husband is not innocent in the matter. When environment and marital pressure are combined, Jane tries to escape from it all by trying to free herself.
The three quotations demonstrate how slavery has been understood differently by different people and it those who view it through the lens of white supremacy that produces the experiences like those of Mary Prince and Harriet Jacobs. Although narratives like Mary Prince’s were written as propaganda to reveal the brutal torture and inhuman conditions slaves experience under their cruel masters, slave owners like Harriet Jacob’s mother’s mistress and Mrs. Williams, Mary Prince’s owner as a child, demonstrate that some slaves were treated as mere labour workers in the household. In the first text, Jacobs is reminiscing her life under her mother’s mistress’s ownership. She recalls that upon her mother’s death, her mother’s mistress promised that
With movements such as Nat Turner’s rebellion in Virginia in 1831, Southern whites felt strongly pressured to defend slavery. Many attempted to justify their actions and state that slavery was good for society; “a positive good rather than a necessary evil”. Southern whites had the idea of Paternalism meaning it was their duty to protect and take care of their slaves and they were considered family. However, slaves such as Harriet Jacobs and Solomon Northup thought differently. Harriet Jacobs was treated more as property than a family member and thousands of slaves such as Northup were punished harshly for miniscule reasons.
In the stories expressed by Harriet Jacobs, through the mindset of Linda Brent, some harsh realities were revealed about slavery. I’ve always known slavery existed and that it was a very immoral act. But never before have I been introduced to actual events that occurred. Thought the book Linda expresses how she wasn’t the worst off. Not to say her life wasn’t difficult, but she acknowledged that she knows she was not treated as bad as others.
Urban planning is an interesting job that is necessary for the function of almost all modern communities. Urban planners work most often for local governments and plan out new developments and means of transportation, devise the most economically profitable and environmentally friendly layouts for buildings and towns, and even plotting out how to make the surrounding environment more aesthetically pleasing (“Urban and Regional Planners.”). Potential candidates for this occupation are almost always required to have skills in areas such as active listening, speaking, reading comprehension, critical thinking, and decision making (“Explore Careers :: Urban and Regional Planners.). It is growing at about an average pace, with a ten percent growth predicted between 2012 and 2022, from the current 38,700 jobs to 42,700. The pay is fairly high, with a national median pay of $65,230. Urban planners usually work normal work hours as well as extra time for meeting with colleagues and teammates. The vast majority of them work in local government, and they work in offices for the planning portion and travel to work sites to see the outcome and evaluate possible decisions. Urban planning is separated in...
historical interactions shaped by an ocean of economic tides. It has been both blessed and scorned by its’ centuries of existence, both praised and cursed by its’ generations of inhabitants, seen both repetition and divergence, but one notion is certain: its’ evolution is perpetual. This analysis serves to journey through the vast history of Philadelphia, evaluating its’ economic successes and failures, while simultaneously gaining an understanding of how these outcomes shaped its’ evolutions as a city. The journey begins at the birthplace of Philadelphia, well before
...diversity through her narrative in Chapter 12-13. She argues that diversity is intrinsically responsible for allowing city life to flourish in a productive manner, and as well provides the foundation for the perpetuation of urban environments. I strongly agree with Jacobs’ insights as to the urban planning techniques that maintain diversity in the city.
In the introduction, Brooks writes about political power and planning Theory and its connection to the practice of planning. He argues planning and politics are connected which is also connected residents, politicians, and developers. Planners have an external influence that shape their roles and responsibility. In the U.S., planners lack the institutional authorities support, which handicaps planners’ professional. Because of this, planners are always between private enterprises and public good. Planning and politics are not separate they are professionally connected. Using positive and normative theories; “positive attempt to explain how things operate while normative tell us how they should operate" (pg. 22). Are one way to bridge the gap between theory and practice and this should not be unique to the planning profession. However, planning theory is less important, but planers still prescript to it because of the “wicked” contemporary problems.
Finally, this paper will explore the “end product” that exists today through the works of the various authors outlined in this course and explain how Los Angeles has survived many decades of evolution, breaking new grounds and serving as the catalyst for an urban metropolis.
The current aspirations of the planning community hearken to the past efforts of theorists like Howard, Mumford, Adams and Geddes. Howard, for example, identified many social and environmental inequities arising from industrialization and exploitation of resources. Hence he, and his contemporaries, believed that these could best be addressed through planning efforts that tackled these challenges pro-actively. Contemporary regional planning trends, such as urban growth boundaries, transit oriented development, sustainability planning, and reinvestment in central cities are largely a response to the already ubiquitous reverberations of a lack of foresight. It is my hope that in their current iteration, these efforts are successful in dampening the effects for the next generation.
...as focusing only in the aesthetics of a city. His book helped the Progressive movement to take shape. Progressives argued that planning should deal with all major problems of the American cities and proposed a system of zoning. In the beginning the zoning was focusing on building sizes however a more modern approach deals with land use, population and housing densities, parks thus leading in to more complex zoning systems. (Fleissig & Jacobsen, 2002). In modern era, the zoning played a crucial role in the flourishing of the urban planner profession. Zonings in a lot of countries need to be justified by a rational plan and the outcome of the plan can be justified in court if necessary. Thus trained planners with experience are needed to carry on the task. The major zoning classes are the industrial, residential and commercial, but those classes can be refined further.
The first “modern” urban planning system was created in Paris in 1854 under the will of Napoleon III and the organization abilities of Georges Haussmann. Back then the triple relationship existed but were ignored. The total reconstruction of Paris was not for the people but t...