Jane Jacobs was a vocal opponent of Robert Moses’s plans and a leader of the movement to preserve Greenwich Village and other Manhattan neighborhoods. She went on to become a leading urban theorist. This panel discussion will examine the principles that Jacobs espoused and how they have been applied. Introduced by the author and founder […]

Jane Jacobs was not beholden to any strategy for making change happen. And today, the complexity of the city and its needs are such that activists also employ a diversity of approaches. While some embrace the protest and resistance models that Jacobs used to oppose the Lower Manhattan Expressway, others focus on effecting social, cultural […]

This panel will explore the social and historical context in which Jane Jacobs emerged, while examining the ways in which she has influenced urban design and planning today. What factors contributed to the paradigm shift she abetted? Are her principles still applicable and efficacious? To what extent has the world changed to match her vision, […]

More than 40 years ago, Jane Jacobs opposed the construction of New York University’s monolithic Bobst Library on Washington Square South. The world has changed since then, but institutional expansion remains a major force in cities. Plans by Columbia University, New York University, Cooper Union and the United Nations have all met with considerable controversy. […]

Jane Jacobs and other activists were canny media strategists, and they worked both mainstream and alternative outlets to spread their messages, affect public perception and try to create both community and change. Today, blogging and other virtual forms of journalism are being used to greater and lesser effect by activists, developers and others trying to […]

Every neighborhood in New York is in want or need of something that it does not have. Pursuit of convenience or a better life motivates a great deal of development and growth. And yet, as Jane Jacobs warned, the satisfaction of these desires — actually achieving the careful balance that defines a great urban neighborhood […]