What’s Next for Jane Jacobs' Sidewalk Ballet?

If Moses attempted to employ on the canvas of New York City the same broad brush strokes that he had used on the canvas of Long Island, he would be obliterating the city’s intricacies indiscriminately instead of working around those that were worth keeping and preserving them—and while this method might result in the creation of something beautiful

share neighborhood stories or reveal interesting facts about the area that people might not otherwise know.” The Jane’s Walk festival happens each May in hundreds of cities around the world, in honor of urbanist and activist Jane Jacobs, who is remembered for her pioneering research on what makes for vibrant, healthy cities.

If the only kinds of city neighborhoods that demonstrate useful functions in real-life self-government are the city as a whole, streets, and districts, then effective neighborhood physical planning for cities should aim at these purposes: First, to foster lively and interesting streets. Second, to make the fabric of these streets as continuous a ne

Zoning for diversity must be thought of differently from the usual zoning for conformity, but like all zoning it is suppressive. One form of zoning for diversity is already familiar in certain city districts: controls against demolition of historically valuable buildings. Already different from their surroundings, these are zoned to stay different