What We See - Latest Blog Entries

Rockefeller Foundation Announces 2010 Winners of Jane Jacobs Medal

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:37:00 -0500

The Rockefeller Foundation today honors Joshua David and Robert Hammond and Elizabeth Barlow Rogers with its Jane Jacobs Medal, celebrating their inspiring contributions to the field of urban planning in New York.

David and Hammond are the co-founders of Friends of the High Line, which reclaimed New York’s elevated High Line railroad and transformed the area into a community park and home to public art. Elizabeth Barlow Rogers is a lifelong advocate for vibrant public spaces. New York’s inaugural Central Park Administrator, she founded the Central Park Conservancy in 1980 and serves as an author, teacher, and lecturer.

Congratulations to the winners!

Elizabeth Barlow Rogers;

Joshua David and Robert Hammond, photo by Jeffrey Donenfeld

Jane's Legacy

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:18:00 -0500

The Gothamist's Jake Dobkin talked to What We See co-editor Stephen Goldsmith about the impact Jane Jacob's ideas and activism has had on shaping the cities we live in.

"It's been more than four years since urbanist and activist Jane Jacobs passed away, but the issues she focused on during her life seem more pressing than ever: how to build successful neighborhoods and cities, the economic survival of small business in the face of development..." Read the full interview here.

The Youngest Jane's Walk Yet

Wed, 26 May 2010 18:49:00 -0500

The Grove Community School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada participated in a Jane's Walk School Edition. Teachers and parents gave the students clipboards and plastic black glasses to imitate and amplify Jane Jacobs' most celebrated contributions to cities - her writings and her observations.

While on their Jane's Walk, the students were asked guiding questions to engage their senses about their neighborhood: Where do you like to walk in the neighbourhood? Is there enough room for us on the sidewalk? Who uses this park? Where do bikes get parked? This charming stroll shows that youth can be active members of their communities just by looking and taking notice. Read more about the event here.

A Mayor Inspired by Jane Jacobs

Thu, 06 May 2010 17:01:00 -0500

The Honourable David Crombie, What We See contributing author and former mayor of Toronto, gave an exclusive video interview in David Crombie Park this weekend on sidewalk culture and Jane Jacobs' living legacy in Toronto.

Crombie is credited for implementing changes in housing, transportation and land-use policy that prompted Toronto's development of a vibrant urban landscape in the 1970s. The park that is his namesake sits amongst the co-op housing he helped put in place while mayor, one of many developments he says were inspired by Jane Jacobs' rigorous intellectual framework for developing cities.

Crack open your new copy of What We See to Crombie's chapter, "Jane Jacobs: The Toronto Experience" to read more about Jane's influence in this Canadian urban hub.

Credit for this video: http://blogs.canoe.ca/canoedossier/arts-alive/david-crombie-talks-jane-jacobs/

Rave Reviews of Jane's Walk 2010 Roll In

Mon, 03 May 2010 16:16:00 -0500

Glowing feeback from this weekend’s Jane’s Walks and Rolls have been pouring in from participants all over the world and we had to share some of the excitement in case you missed it. Here are just a few of the comments folks shared after taking part in their neighborhood walks, honoring Jane Jacobs’ legacy.

“Historic District of Old Oakland, California, led by Annalee Allen and Tina Ramos was amazing. Jane would have LOVED it. Good turnout; interesting local people. Annalee does comprehensive research for interesting stories, news clips and historic photos. Beautiful day; not a dull moment.”
—Eve Noman, Oakland, California

“Osborne Village Walk & the Riverview Walk expressed what I feel each day when I walk through our neighbourhood. You can improve your quality of life by enjoying the history and present changes. Savouring the scenery, architecture, the people & nature.”
—Rhonda Dickens, Winnipeg, Manitoba

“A great two days of Jane's Walk in Toronto...these small moments of openness and desire to share the walk with others are the threads that make the fiber of a great city.”
—Amanuel Melles, Toronto, Ontario

To follow the full buzz on Jane’s Walks and the release of What We See online, check out the Jane’s Walk Facebook page.

Jane Jacob's Makes Top 10 List of "Most Influential Women of the Environment"

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:41:00 -0500

An Earth Day list of women who changed the environmental movement forever, produced by Ecopolitology Magazine, honors Jane Jacobs among ten outstanding female leaders.

Jane Jacobs painting above in Toronto by John Scott. Creative Commons photo by Laurie McGregor.

Notes Ecopolitology, "During much of the 20th century, environmental activism was closely tied to feminism. Since then, many strong women have been at the forefront of environmentalism. Whether advocating animal rights or raising awareness about toxins in our environment, women like Jane Jacobs have had a powerful impact on the environmental movement."

See all the women making Green Living History!

Jane's Walks Span the Globe!

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:47:00 -0500

Jane's Walks are truly going global. 2010 is shaping up to be greatest and most far-reaching celebration of Jane Jacob's legacy since the Jane's Walks tradition got its start in Toronto in 2007. SIxty cities, including twenty-eight Canadian cities, twenty-seven US cities, and five more across the world, and have been inspired to host three hundred and sixty unique neighborhood walking tours!

*photo from janeswalks.net

Folks are lacing up their sneakers for their first ever Jane's Walks in Brooklyn, Los
Angeles, Chattanooga, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Victoria to name a few new hosts. The celebration takes on international flavor in Paloma Uruguay, Mumbai and Goa India, Dublin Ireland and Madrid Spain as well.

We were blown away not only by the span of cities participating, but by the creativity the Walks have inspired. Winnipeg Canada will unveil the first phase of its Rapid Transit system and discuss its integration into the neighborhood, Toronto high school students will
lead a walk through Jane Jacob's home in the Annex neighborhood, and our own What We See authors will be hosting book release launches in six different cities!

To see a full list of participating cities, contact a Jane's Walk organizer near you, or even sign up to host your own walk, visit the Canadian Jane's Walk site or Jane's Walk USA,

Jane Jacobs: Parting Words (2007)

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:46:00 -0500

Jane Jacobs: Parting Words (2007) from Kevin Balmer on Vimeo.

Jane Jacobs: Parting Words captures urban planner, thinker, and activist Jane Jacobs in her final public appearance in Portland, Oregon.

This short film was written, produced and directed by Chet Orloff and Kevin Balmer. Orloff is an Adjunct Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University and Balmer is a PSU Master of Urban Studies and Planning Graduate (2006).

Healing Gardens: Clare Cooper Marcus Proves the Restorative Power of the Great Outdoors

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:47:00 -0500

What We See author Clare Cooper Marcus, Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, has been cited in a recent media release hailing the benefits of shaded healing gardens for the patient experience and health outcome of an ailment. Clare, the author of "Healing Gardens in Hospitals" lends credence to a growing body of research on the subject, saying,"One can reasonably assume that change to a more relaxed and calmer frame of mind is likely to enhance the immune system and thus the body has a better chance of healing itself."

*Source: Sugar Creek Gardens [photo usage pending approval]

The release focuses on the importance of shade to providing the patient with the greatest health benefits, which Clare also supports. She stipulates that gardens must offer visitors the choice to sit in sun or shade. For some visitors, it's a matter of physical comfort. For many patients, however, shade is imperative; for example, burn patients may experience pain in direct sunlight, and certain cancer and HIV medications require users to keep out of the sun.

Music in the Spacing of the Spheres: Jane Jacobs-Inspired Playlist

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:02:00 -0500

Our senses heighten with each step we take inside a city. Jane Jacobs encouraged us to walk in centers of life. We can visually and aurally experience what those civic centers have to offer with valuable parts of ourselves. The coupling of our ears and our eyes treat us to the richness of everyday sidewalk ballets. Between the buzzing of public transportation, the crescendos hidden in alleys and the people synching in middles of buildings and streets, we can hear the music of the metropolis.

Upon finding The "What Would Jane Jacobs Do?" Club Mix on a blog called The Periphery, I was inspired to create my own playlist that reflects what, I think, is best illustrated in a quote by Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, "There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres." The city is the perfect everyday setting for live shows. If you find that you are a pedestrian who prefers their earphones to street symphonies, then feel free to listen to the New Village Press version of a Jane Jacobs playlist by clicking on this link.

1. "Use Somebody" by Paramore 2. "Under the Bridge" by All Saints 3. "Doesn't Mean Anything" by Alicia Keys 4. "Big Yellow Taxi" by Counting Crows ft. Vanessa Carlton 5. "Bay Area Fog (Hyphy Remix)" by San Quinn, Big Rich, Boo Banga, Traxamillion 6. "Hawai'i '78" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole 7. "Use Sombody" by Craig David 8. "New York" by Alicia Keys 9. "Joe Metro" by Blue Scholars

If you would like to share your own version of a Jane Jacobs-inspired playlist, feel free to drop us a line in the comments section!

No wars, No cars: Ecocities According to Richard Register

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:37:00 -0500

Richard Register, What We See Author and founder of Ecocity Builders, will give a highly anticipated presentation entitled "No Wars, No Cars, Ecocities According to Richard Register" on rebuilding cities in harmony with nature this coming Wednesday, March 31st at The Commons NYC. Of note, Register has circled the planet dozens of times to speak, but this is the first time Register has visited or spoken in New York in over ten years.

Register's vision of an ecocity, as he describes it in What We See is as follows: Natural habitat corridors foster biodiversity and give residents access to nature. Food and other goods are sourced from within the bioregion. Most residents walk or cycle to work, and take public transportation when they need to travel further. Car-sharing allows people to use a car only when needed. The labor-intensive economy maintains full employment and minimizes energy and water inputs. Goods are designed for reuse, remanufacture, and recycling; and production is designed to reuse by-products and minimize transport.

Sounds like a vision that would make Jane Jacobs smile.

For event details or to order tickets,click here.

To learn more about Ecocity Builders, click here.

Jacob's "View from the Street" Thrives in Mumbai, India

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:58:00 -0500

What We See authors Rahul Srivastava and Matias Echanove have re-envisioned the so called 'slums' of Mumbai India through the eyes of Jane Jacobs in a special feature for the New York Times entitled "Taking the Slum Out of Slumdog".

The pair applies Jane's logic that "involvement is the way to appreciation" of a community to make a compelling case for the preservation of the so-called 'slum' of Dharavi. Praising the community's organic development in recent history, Echanove and Srivastava say "...you dignify the neighborhood and the people will reorganize themselves around that. Improving space is legitimizing space."
"If Jane Jacobs was alive today, she would love Dharavi because it's the street life that is the trigger for development," adds Echanove.
The article's author captures the theme of What We See beautifully, noting, "[Jane's] point of view continues to shine through the practice and activism of many like Echanove and Srivastava the world over"

View the full article

Srivastava and Echanove's paper, "The Village Inside: From Mumbai to Tokyo and Back"will be featured in What We See: Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs in May.

Roberta Brandes Gratz Releases Timely New Title!

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:23:00 -0500

Sincere kudos go out to Roberta Brandes Gratz, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commissioner, and a featured What We See author for the timely release of her latest non-fiction novel on Jane Jacob's legacy: The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs (Nation, ISBN 978-1-56858-438-6)

Publisher's Weekly describes the book as follows: The mid-20th-century showdown between New York City planning czar Moses and legendary community urbanist Jacobs reverberates down the decades in this meandering polemic. A journalist and member of New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission, Gratz (Of Center for The Living City) views 50 years of economic and real estate development as a duel between the legacies of Moses, whose pharaonic highway and urban renewal projects obliterated neighborhoods, and Jacobs, who extolled urban diversity and disorderly mixed uses, hated cars, and championed organic, human-scale development. Through this lens, Gratz rehashes Jacobs's defeat of Moses's Manhattan expressway schemes, examines New York's (anti-)industrial policies and historical preservation laws, and attacks what she sees as latter-day boondoggles like Brooklyn's proposed mammoth Atlantic Yards development and Columbia University's expansion.

The book will be in bookstores by April 1st. Readers can whet their appetites for What We See with this in-depth contextual history of Jacob's and Moses' showdown in New York, and be especially informed participants in upcoming Jane's Walks after viewing this title!

How Jane Jacobs Can Still Take On New York City

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:31:00 -0500

Graphic designer Mike Joyce of Stereotype Design launched a Fall 2009 campaign focusing on the neighborhood he calls home. The campaign (for now) consists of postcards and t-shirts that are not a personal attack against Marc Jacobs, but rather a statement that begs the question of using common sense; business chains that seemingly overpopulate neighborhoods and oust small businesses give these areas much identity and character. Joyce says, "...there is of course a place for Marc Jacobs in the Village but six stores on two blocks?! Come on, the person that argues for that has no individuality."

New York City's Greenwich Village exudes individuality and it is arguably different from the rest of New York City. Affectionately dubbed "The Village," the area was once home to Jane Jacobs herself. Here you can find many places to spend more time than money as an ordinary pedestrian. The Village is comprised of a slew of coffee shops, cafes, bookstores, creative hubs and other small businesses.

When asked by blogger Jeremiah Moss about the impetus for this guerrilla campaign that evokes questions regarding the gentrification of The Village, Joyce had this to say: "I guess what finally did it for me was watching about twenty of my favorite restaurants going out of business or being driven out by rents doubling and tripling. This is a sad and direct effect of the franchises like Starbucks, Ralph Lauren, and Marc Jacobs moving in."
Joyce's campaign definitely reflects the idea that what we see can inform the process of transformation and the need for common sensical practice.

A Woman to Celebrate This International Women's Month

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:48:00 -0600

In honor of International Women's Month, New Village would like to celebrate Jane for the particular ways in which she is a role model to other women in the field, and to fearless females in all walks of life. We think the following list captures her unique spirit very nicely....

5 FACTS ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT WOMAN YOU DON'T KNOW,
Legendary urbanist, thinker, writer, and activist Jane Jacobs

“Jacobs was a woman of infinite humility, compassion, warmth and generosity of spirit. She reveled in challenging conversation with thoughtful people, listened carefully to citizen testimony at public hearings, never resisted the opportunity to stand up to power and wished only for people to continue the dialogue she started, not duplicate her words... Jacobs's thought and writing comprise a resounding symphony of lessons and ideas; they compose a life's work about economic, social and environmental justice."
-- The Nation

1. Jane Jacobs, with no college degree, and never formally educated or professionally trained in urban planning, came to be the most famous urban planning critic and commentator of the 20th century.
2. At a time when women were not involved in urban planning or government, as a young upstart journalist, Jacobs faced down legendary titan Robert Moses and successfully blocked his plans to destroy entire sections of Manhattan with massive highways.
3. Her 1961 seminal work Death and Life of Great American Cities proposed radically new principles for rebuilding cities. At a time when common wisdom called for bulldozing slums and opening up city space, Jacobs's prescription was ever more diversity, density and dynamism. Her book has been credited with reaching beyond planning issues to influence the spirit of the times.
4. Critics used adjectives like "triumphant" and "seminal" to describe Death and Life of Great American Cities. Wolf Von Eckardt, writing in The Washington Post, observed that it has "proved more important than all the statistical studies of all our myriad urban centers."
Jacobs was a community organization pioneer: she organized massive grass-roots efforts to block urban-renewal projects that would have destroyed local neighborhoods. She inspired countless individuals and established the importance of citizen participation in community design.
5. In 1968, Jacobs was arrested on charges of second-degree riot and criminal mischief for disrupting a public meeting about the construction of a 10-lane elevated expressway, which would have sliced across Lower Manhattan and displaced thousands of families and businesses. The charges were dropped, and the expressway never got built.

source: Amazon.com:

Harvard Design Magazine Shines Spotlight on What We See Author Michael Sorkin

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:34:00 -0600

Harvard Design Magazine's Fall/Winter 2009-2010 edition features New Village Press Author, Michael Sorkin, Distinguished Professor of Architecture and Director of Graduate Program in Urban Design, CCNY, discussing the history of utopianism and its relationship to urban design. In "Eutopia Now!", Sorkin argues that "Green urbanism - eutopia - sees cities as habitats. Placing and maintaining ourselves in healthy environments is central to this task." Follow links to Sorkin's own blog to view Sorkin speaking live on Youtube about the notion of Eutopia and how it's meaning has changed in the post-WWII era.
http://utopiaorbust.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/how-can-we-get-out-of-this-mess/

Jane Jacob's Model Inspires Innovation in Cleveland

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:20:00 -0600

Jane Jacob's Economy of Cities Model for small-scale worker and community-driven growth is working its magic on the economically struggling city of Cleveland, Ohio.

The upcoming March 2010 issue of The Nation prominently unveils the "Cleveland Model," a reference to that city's emerging complex of worker-owned businesses under the Evergreen Cooperatives umbrella.

The key enterprise in the Cleveland initiative is the Evergreen Cooperative laundry, "a worker-owned, industrial-size, 'green' operation" that "opened late last fall in Glenville, a neighborhood with a median income hovering around $18,000."

It's the first of ten major enterprises in the works in Cleveland, where the poverty rate is more than 30 percent and the population has declined from 900,000 to less than 450,000 since 1950.

"The model takes us beyond both traditional capitalism and traditional socialism," the authors report. The key link is between national sectors of expanding public activity and procurement, on the one hand, and a new local economic entity, on the other, that "democratizes" ownership and is deeply anchored in the community.

There is a great deal of national buzz among activists and community-development specialists about "the Cleveland model." Potential applications of the model are being considered in Atlanta, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Detroit and a number of other cities around Ohio.

See full reference to Jane Jacobs on GRIST...

'What We See' Authors Keep New Yorkers' Walkin' and Rollin'

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:29:00 -0600

What We See authors are making headlines daily for putting Jane Jacobs' people-first urbanist principles into practice in cities across the world.

This month Sierra Club Magazine features What We See author and prominent Danish architect, Jan Gehl, describing how the human dimension in city planning has inspired his improvements to the bicycle infrastructure of New York City.

Gehl includes environmentally-friendly bicyclists to his vision of "life lived in public spaces" noting

“When you are on a bicycle, you are using your senses and see the other people and see what's going on. And people on the sidewalks can easily see bicyclists as individuals, as people. So you cannot say that the [public] life is only on the sidewalks; I also think it's in the bike lanes.”

(Note: Bikers can participate in a "Jane's Roll" throughout bike-friendly neighborhoods nationwide the first weekend in May.)

Gehl also made reference to the work of another What We See contributing author, Janette Sadik-Khan, New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner, who has been transforming Times Square into a people-first public space that would make Jane Jacobs smile.

Says Gehl:“...what happened in Times Square in New York the moment they provided much better [public] space to enjoy the place.... I think they provided 11 times more space for human activities, and ever since they were closed to traffic, people took over.”

Specifically, the plan calls for sectioning off Times Square from 47th to 42nd streets and Herald Square from 35th to 33rd streets, creating pedestrian plazas with hundreds of tables, chairs, benches and planters.

Commissioner Sadik-Khan cited reductions in injuries to pedestrians and motorists and reports from thrilled business owners and shoppers, alike, as evidence of the project's immediate success.