Jane Jacobs and E.B. White’s writings regarding New York had different key points. While Jacobs focuses on what makes and defines a city, White examines the inhabitants of a city more closely. Through reading the two, I found myself resonating with White more than Jacobs’ idea of streets being the most important factor in defining a city.

The idea that White brings up is that there are roughly three different types of New Yorkers, the man or woman who was born here, the commuter from the outskirts of town, and the person who came to New York from elsewhere. I found that his statement very true as it is sometimes obvious to many who the tourists are, who the business men from outside the city are, but what was surprising is that it is hard to tell between who is the native New Yorkers and those who immigrated here.

White praises the city by saying that it will “…absorb, almost without showing any sign of it, a congress of visitors.” New York and many of its inhabitants does a splendid job at assimilating as it continues to grow and become home for many new people every year. In fact, according to the United States Census, it is inhabited by a little over 8.5 million people. The idea of this insanely large number of people finding a single place a home, made each individual life feel rather insignificant.

After reading Here is New York, I also found myself thinking about E.B. White’s other works, namely the three children’s books I read as a child. Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan were three seemingly different stories in which I haven’t thought about in a long while. However, reflecting on those books with the idea of different New Yorkers, and some finding it a home, the theme of home and finding one became prominent throughout.