“You can observe a lot just by looking” —Yogi Berra.
Starting with her classic essay ‘Downtown is for People” and continuing in her seminal Death & Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs transformed urban thinking by building theories around her concrete observations, not the abstract theories that had dominated post-war urban thought. Jacobs advocated an integrated form of urbanism.
Jacobs’ approach was simply. Observe the interdependence of people and structures in the city. Because of her, we think of cities differently. We understand that mixed-uses and pedestrian traffic are important. Few would argue these points. So what more can be said about Jane Jacobs? As it turns out, plenty.
In What We See: Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs, 30 essayists try to make sense of their own cities or situations in light of what Jacobs’ observed in her books and other writings. The book is the joint work of the Center for the Living City and New Village Press and edited by Stephen A. Goldsmith and Lynne Elizabeth.
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With 30 authors from a variety of backgrounds, contributing essays, the reader will be exposed to at least one or two new scholars, activists and thinkers. Sure, there are some of the expected heavy-hitters the fields of planning/design such as Jan Gehl, Janette Sadik-Kahn, and Nan Ellin. But their observations are enhanced by the presence of some unique viewpoints, including a biologist, a youth minister, a playwright, and a PBS correspondent, among others.
While in another setting, this diversity could be confusing, it works here as a perfect tribute to Jane’s integrated approach to viewing the city. Indeed, these diverse voices reflect Jacobs’ observation that “it is fatal to specialize”* The extensive list of contributors mean that not only are multiple perspectives covered, but also many locations. Places such as Missoula, Toronto, Germany, and Mumbai are profiled. This captures a breadth of urban environments and dispels the notions that Jacobs’ work was only applicable to midtown Manhattan or downtown Toronto.
The essays are thoughtfully grouped into six sections: Vitality of the Neighbourhood; The Virtue of Seeing; Cities, Villages, Streets; The Organized Complexity of Planning; Design for Nature, Design for People; and Economic Instincts. Each section has four to six essays.
As they are too many essays to comment on each one separately here is a cross-section of some of my personal highlights that , reflect that diversity of the book:
- “The Mirage of the Efficient City,” by economist Sanford Ikeda, touches on a pet peeve of mine: the quest by city halls to create a more ‘efficient city.’ In this essay, Ikeda reminds us that cities are inefficient in a good, necessary way.
- In “Nine Ways of Looking at Ourselves (Looking “at Cities),” social activist Arlene Goldbard gives us a toolkit to help us emulate how Jacobs approached the observations of her urban environment.
- “The Village Inside,” by urbanologists Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava, re-imagines the Dharavi slum of Mumbai through the eyes of Jane Jacobs. This was a provocative pierce that illustrates how Jacobs’ observations are applicable almost everywhere.
- Architect and professor James Stockard’s essay “The Obligation to Listen, Learn, Teach—Patiently,” highlights why it is important to connect with the public on planning issues; including the dry technical ones like zoning.
- Janine Benyus applies the lessons of biomimicry to the ideals of Jacobs in “Recognizing What Works: A Conscious Emulation of Life’s Genius,” While a biologist, Benyus has a long connection with Jacobs; she studied Jacobs’ writing while learning how to write.
- In “When Places Have Deep Economic Histories” sociologist Saskia Sassen looks at the intersection of the knowledge economy and 21st-century urban industry, and how cities can make their past work for their future.
The only essay that fell flat for me was Clare Cooper Marcus’s discussion of planning around children, but emphasizing the cul-de-sac. While it was undoubtably made to challenge preconceived notions of the suburbs, I could not see Jacobs’e agreeing at all with her observations.
One shocking omission is the lack of a political dimension. While there were contributions from past politicians, such as David Crombie and Jaime Lerner that danced around the political—in particular Lerner’s observation that “the idea that action should only be taken after all the answers and the resources have been found is a sure recipe for paralysis”—the essay avoided any overt political commentary.
Whether this is because be because of a narrow urban focus of the editors or a more intentional decision to make the book apolitical, it is a glaring absence. Jacobs never shied away from the most contentious politic issues of her time, whether it be her public battles with Robert Moses, moving to Canada to keep her sons from being drafted to fight in Vietnam or her published book supporting Quebec separatism.
Another shortcoming of the book was the study guide. I was looking forward to using these questions for a jumping of point for a series of blog articles. However, instead of following the conversational and intimate tone of the rest of the book—and of Jane’s own writings—the questions were academic and jargon filled, more appropriate for a final exam than a book club or blog post. Moreover, the questions are lumped together at the end, making it them seem an after-thought. They would have been more effective at the end of each essay, or even each section.
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This book is timely. With the approach the 50th anniversary of Death & Life of Great American Cities, we need, more than ever, to advance our observations. Just as in 1961, we are struggling with an upheaval of how our urban areas function. The financial crisis spawned by the largely suburban mortgage meltdown has us rethinking how and where we live. The gulf oil spill highlighting the costs of even consuming domestic oil, has people talking about our addiction to the automobile.
I am amazed at how accurately she predicted much of our current situation in her last book Dark Ages Ahead. If anyone had any doubts before the global recession that Jacobs was right about the interdependence of everything, and the need for an integrated approach, they should be answered now.
At the dawn of the ‘century of the city’, we would do well to take another look at Jacobs examination of the urban environment. What We See does just that. And in doing so, it introduces a new generation of urban thinkers, who—while influenced by Jane—are developing a new generation of urban visions and strategies to cope with our new generation of urban problems.
I strongly urge you to read (and reread) this book. But, while doing so, please remember that the purpose of the of the book isn’t too simply to reflection on the observations Jane Jacobs. Rather it is to inspire each of us to advance our own observations of ‘what we see.’
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