It was remarkable at the CABE urban design summer school how many speakers and delegates gave a name-check to Jane Jacobs. For someone who was not an architect, landscape architect or urban designer she has certainly had a big influence. Certainly anyone who wants to understand the origin of a lot of contemporary thinking about cities, streets and urban spaces should make an effort to read Death and Life of Great American Cities. Challenging the predominant thinking on urban planning, it was one of the first books of its kind to be written by someone who actually loved city life and developed her theories from observations of how streets, parks and neighbourhoods really worked.
But those daunted by the size of Death and Life could seek out two books published last year which provide a more accessible introduction. Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took on New York's Master Builder and Transformed the American City by Anthony Flint recounts the epic battles between Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs.
The book tells the story of Robert Moses the "master builder" of mid-20th century, New York. He changed shorelines, built bridges, tunnels and roadways, and transformed neighbourhoods forever. His decisions influenced a generation of engineers, architects, and urban planners. In his way he had an undoubted commitment to quality but his vision was wholly based around the private car and was ultimately unsustainable in a dense city like New York. At the height of his powers Moses was formidable, establishing and heading up the Triborough Bridge Authority which acted outside the control of local government.
He met his nemesis in the late 1950s when he tried to put a highway through Washington Square Park a well-loved local park in lower Manhattan. Jane Jacobs, the girl from Scranton Pennsylvania who had come to New York in the 1930s to become a writer and fallen in love with its streetlife, public spaces and specialist industries quickly joined the campaign against the scheme. Her passionate reasoning, uncompromising approach and campaigning tactics (which set the model for many future environmental campaigns) soon had Moses on the back foot. At a public meeting he bellowed: “There is nobody against this – NOBODY, NOBODY, NOBODY but a bunch of, a bunch of MOTHERS!” and stomped out. The campaign was so successful that not only was the highway stopped but he existing road through the park was closed.
The two were soon to be joined in battle again when Moses’ plans for ‘slum clearance’ threatened Jacob’s own neighbourhood, the West Village. The conflict dragged on through the 60s but the result was the same. The West Village was saved and is now a thriving and very affluent neighbourhood. Anthony Flint’s account is compelling and, although clearly in the Jacobs’ camp, he does not flinch from highlighting some of the criticisms of her approach.
If you are looking for an even easier read, Genius of Common Sense by Glenna Lang and Marjory Wunsch is an account of the life of Jane Jacobs and the ideas set out in Death and Life. It is clearly aimed at young people but provides a succinct account of Jacobs’ life for adult readers. It would make a great present for any teenagers beginning to take and interest in places.
Finally, for those seeking a contemporary spin on Jane Jacobs ideas and writings, What We See, Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs, is a series of essays inspired by Jane’s work, including one by the summer school’s own Rob Cowan.