In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs writes what she considers “an attack on current city planning and rebuilding” (1961). In her Introduction Jacobs specifically focuses on the ideas that led to the creation of modern concepts of city planning. Jacobs believes that all of the ideas derived from previous planners such as Ebenezer Howard and his Garden City, are deeply flawed in that they promote a city planning system which is only harmful for the city. Moreover, Jacob also argues that current city planners who were influenced by previous ones often do not understand the city and the way in which its parts play an essential role in its success and diversity. Jacobs argues that those who adventure themselves in the field of city planning are so focused on the knowledge they attained through years of learning that they do not really see the city for what it is and instead the see the city for how they think it ought to work and what would be good for the people (Jacobs, 1961, p. 8). In order to make this point more explicit Jacob’s refers to her friend in Boston as a perfect example. “My friend’s instincts told him the North End was a good place, and his social statistics confirmed it. But everything he had learned as a physical planner about what is good for people and good for city neighborhoods, everything that made him an expert, told him the North End had to be a bad place” (Jacobs, 1931, p.10-11).
In Chapter 7 titled “The generators of diversity,” Jacobs describes the type of cities which city planners should focus in generating. In this chapter she argues for diverse cities, which serve various purposes instead of one. She believes that cities which lack a mixture of uses are monotonous, while those who have lots of diversity are capable of generating more diversity. In this chapter, Jacobs presents her formula for the creation of successful diverse cities. In order to generate a diverse city, four conditions must be present: 1. The city must serve more than one function 2. Street blocks should be short 3. There must a mixture of old and new buildings and 4. there should be a dense concentration of people (Jacobs, 1931, p.150-151). Jacobs believes that a diverse city would not be possible if any one of these conditions was missing.
Through, reading both excerpts of Jacobs’ work, my attention was directed to her introduction where she writes about city rebuilding. Here she discusses how city planners have used great quantities of money to redevelop the city, but in doing so they have adopted a plan in which they take out all that its old or whatever they deem obstructive. That moto of out with the old and in with the new, she argues, has had negative effects on both the city and its people. She writes “the economic rationale of current city rebuilding is a hoax… the means to planned city rebuilding are as deplorable as the ends” (Jacobs, 1931, p 5), and she is right. The simple demolition of “slums” or of old neighborhoods do not solve the problem; they instead generate even bigger problems. Jacobs’ point of view is shared with Roberta Brandes Gratz. In her work, Downsizing Large Cities Is Harmful, Gratzn (2011) discusses demolition of abandoned buildings and how these are ineffective: “When no productive policy exists, demolition is the easiest way to look like the problem is being addressed…But demolishing buildings does not solve social problems. It just displaces them to another locale” (Gratz 2011). Instead of tearing down, she argues, it would be best to allow these old neighborhoods to regenerate themselves. The best way for this “regeneration” to occur can be best achieved through local movements such as grassroots movements, which can try to salvage these locations and give them a new purpose. Gratz concludes by saying that “organic urban neighborhoods are self-generated, not developer-built,” thus we should not focus too much on redeveloping everything from top to bottom but should instead look for other ways in which we could reuse the existing infrastructure for solving problems such as housing shortage. Gratz argument relates to that of Jacobs in that she too believes in the preservation of current infrastructure, and in the rehabilitation of old neighborhoods rather than on their destruction.
Gratz, R. B. (2011). Downsizing Large Cities Is Harmful. In R. Espejo (Ed.), Opposing Viewpoints. Urban America. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Next American City, 2007, Spring) Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.queens.ezproxy.cuny.edu:2048/apps/doc/EJ3010399254/OVIC?u=cuny_queens&xid=e5159b55
Jacobs, Jane (1961). “Introduction” The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage,
Jacobs, Jane (1961). “The Generators of Diversity.” The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage,
