Five points, a slum, was noted as one of the worst neighborhoods in New York City around the mid 19th century. It could have even be considered one of the worst in the world; it definitely gained a world-wide reputation. However, is it possible it’s not as bad as it seems? Jane Jacobs definitely would believe so. In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she discussed a neighborhood within a city with the “slum” stigma. She told of how the area was actually thriving and, “…repaired and painted as if it were intended to be seen.” To her, city planners seem to have certain stereotypes of how cities should be. Jane Jacobs disagrees with their “orthodox city planning” because she describes each city as an organism, personified by the people who inhabit it and their ability to live in it. There is no one specific way to plan and design a city to make it thrive.
It seems that five point’s problem may be with the lack of understanding by city planners. Mumford states that “wealth has no limits”. From this I took that the wealthy have all the power. If the wealthy are controlling what happens to poorer neighborhoods is it possible that they are not acting with the poor peoples’ best interest in mind? Jane Jacobs believed that many of the city planners acted out of corruption and greed. This relates to the present day problem with Occupy Wall Street. Jane Jacobs would probably disagree with the 1%. I believe she would probably be very active in the OWS movement. Contrary to Mumford, Jacobs does not believe that money will solve all problems because the people who have the money don’t understand what the city needs. To her, the needs of the citizens are not being represented by their representers.
Additional Food For Thought:
1. Is Five Points really as bad as it seems? Is it possible the “better” parts of the city are not actually as good as they are made out to be?
2. How could city planning be improved in Five Points?
3. Is there an underlying prejudice towards the citizens of Five Points fueling their status as the worst neighborhood in NYC?
