In the excerpt, “The Patron Saint” and the Git’r Done Man,” the opposing ideologies of urban planning of Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses are explained.  Moses initiated large building projects in New York City. The audience of his projects were elite business and political leaders while Jacobs’ ideas tended to focus on helping the middle and lower-income residents of New York City.

Urban planning is still a struggle between the rich and the poor. In Jacobs’ “Introduction” from her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and What We Can Do About It, she cites a instance of an unwanted housing project in New York’s East Harlem. Many of the affected residents are unhappy with the way the city treated them. No one asked for a new building with a “nice” lawn. No one wanted to be relocated. Unwanted city projects are still being approved without the consent of the neighborhood residents. Lower-income do not have influence over their own neighborhoods, adding to the growing tensions between the rich and the poor. Many residents are not even aware of the rezoning projects taking place in New York City. I had no idea that Flushing West was being rezoned until a few weeks ago.

How can city planners design projects without consulting the hundreds of residents that could affected by them? Is everyone still just catering to the elite business and political leaders? Where are the announcements for public forums? There should be more outrage and protests covered by the media so that more people become aware of the problem with urban planning.

Discussion Question: Is there a way that the needs of the lower-income residents and the leaders of New York City can both be met?