Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In

jane_jacobs.jpgThere will be a public celebration for Jane Jacobs this evening, 5:00 pm, under the arch in Washington Square Park.

Lisa Chamerblain will be there and has a nice write-up on her blog, Polis:

It has become the contrarian fashion to say that Jane Jacobs' contribution to urban planning didn't address many of the problems we grapple with today, and that Robert Moses wasn't entirely destructive and wrong. I find this to be an intellectually lazy argument. No single person could simultaneously explode an entire profession AND anticipate every possible consequence of that (such as gentrification, which did not exist at the time that she wrote her seminal book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, in 1961).

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Andy Byford’s ‘Trump Card’ On Penn Station Keeps Wrecking New York’s Infrastructure Projects

What will become of the Amtrak executive's plans for Penn Station under President Trump?

February 6, 2026

FLASHBACK: What Happened To Car-Free ‘Snow Routes’ — And Could They Have Helped City Clear the Streets?

Remember those bright red signs that banned parking from snow emergency routes? Here is the curious story of how New York City abandoned a key component of its snow removal system.

February 6, 2026

Council Transportation Chair Vows To Take On Drivers: ‘I Don’t Want To Just Futz Around the Edges’

Streetsblog grilled new chairman Shaun Abreu, who says he wants to bring more life and fewer cars to the street.

February 6, 2026

Friday’s Headlines: New York’s Strongest Edition

It's still snow problem around town. Plus other news.

February 6, 2026

Budget Crunch: Advocates Push Mamdani For Massive Fair Fares Expansion

The expansion would offer free transit on the subway and bus for people making up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level, which is not a lot.

February 5, 2026
See all posts