This week’s reading by Jane Jacobs “The downtown is for People”(1958) is a very influential and critical writing that emphasises the importance of creating cities and in particular streets for people. Jacob’s career as a journalist see’s an unbiased view of the work of planners and Jacob’s in this article is highly critical of planners such as Ebenezer’s Howards Garden City movement and in particular major redevelopments which were happening at the time that she believed would not “revitalize the downtown but deaden it”.
Jacob’s believed that planners became seized with dreams of order and were fascinated with scale models which took away from the atmosphere and exuberance of the downtown. She preached that to create a downtown for the people you must get out there and walk with the people. Jacob’s criticised that modernist planning didn’t consider the pedestrian level and she believed the downtown should be a place of variety with short, pedestrian friendly narrow streets and an atmosphere that is as active in the day as it is in the night (Two Shift Theory). Melbourne is Australia’s best example of such street life with cafes, shopping and business mixed between short and narrow pedestrian friendly streets and streets that accommodate cars creating a vibrant community atmosphere.
Although many of Jacob’s views and opinions on the disapproval of planning and particular planners are questionable and even offensive to some, I believe her work in general has improved planning for the better especially planning downtown urban centres for people. Her work questioned planning notions that hadn’t been questioned before and in doing so allowed for improvement and I believe even promoted public involvement and engagement in planning as Jacobs wasn’t a planner yet her views proved that non planners can make valid contributions to the planning of cities.
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