Jane Jacobs made many good points about the importance of streets and sidewalks as well as factors that impact their safety. Her work really got me thinking about how valuable the streets and sidewalks are to me personally and how important it is that they are safe. There were, however, some points that Jacobs made that I did not agree with.
I agree with the tree qualities that Jacobs encourages for streets. These are a “clear demarcation of what is public space and what is private space,” “eyes upon the street,” and users on the sidewalk “fairly continuously.”
Walking is often my main form of transportation in New York City. I tend to take the subway if the weather is bad or I am traveling a longer distances but, as long as walking is a reasonable choice, I choose it instead. Because I live in a fairly central part of Manhattan, walking is reasonable for most destinations. I enjoy being out in the city, taking in the buildings, people, and experience that make New York such a great and desirable city. Because I make such frequent use of the streets and sidewalks, I can understand how important it is that they are safe for people.
If an area of the city has streets that are not safe, in addition to the direct issues relating to crimes that can or do take place, there will be other indirect negative impacts for the people of the community. For example, if the people who live in the area don’t feel safe enough to walk the streets, they likely will not go out as much. This means they would miss out on some of the great experiences that New York has to offer. Jacobs touches on a subject that is similar to this idea, which is the Turf system, in which housing projects are isolated from outsiders. Agree with Jacobs that this attempt at a solution comes with its own problems.
There are some topics about which I disagree with Jacobs. For example, she criticizes the safety method of residential Park Avenue. She states that crime in the area is prevented by hired street watchers. She criticizes this method due to its cost, stating that if the rents decreased to the point that could no longer support these positions, the area would quickly become dangerous. Although I do understand the point Jacobs is making, I believe that it is important for neighborhoods to differentiate themselves in order to support the different desires of the diverse people of New York City. While her ideas relating to busy streets with strangers walking on the sidewalks at all times have their benefits, I don’t believe that the entire city should be similar to the neighborhood that Jacobs lives in. There are many people who would want to live on a quiet street within the city and. I believe that, as long as the community has found a way to keep the area safe, having an area like that is a positive.
For the most part, I believe that Jane Jacobs brings up very good points about the safety of streets and sidewalks.
