Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs's Legacy: 2016 Edition
New York magazine offers a long reflection on the shifting lessons offered by Jane Jacobs after a year of new books and a re-emergence into the public eye.

Jane Jacobs, 'Cities First,' and the Virtues of Being Wrong
The great urbanist may have offered a flawed theory of urban origins, but that doesn't mean her idea is completely worthless.

Op-Ed: Jane Jacobs Wouldn't Recognize the Cities of Today
Without children at the center of activity, the urban neighborhoods of today offer little compared to the ideals expressed by Jane Jacobs, according to this strongly worded critique of contemporary urbanism.

Happy 100th Birthday, Jane Jacobs
Today would have been Jane Jacobs's 100th birthday. Here are a few recommended reads to help commemorate the occasion.

Ask the Editor: Planning Grammar Edition
The Planetizen managing editor answers questions about some of the post consistently befuddling grammar questions that arise when writing and talking about planning.

A First Look at the Opera About Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs
The creators of A Marvelous Order—an opera based on the lives of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs—have released a video providing a first peek at the songs and ideas behind the opera.
World Record Sale for Manhattan Real Estate, Again
The $5.46 billion sale last October for the private 83 acres of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village barely topped the prior world record set for the same property in 2006 and preserved 5,000 apartments for middle income renters.
Solving for Pattern: What Urbanists Can Learn from Wendell Berry
Our typical images of the city often fail us. What we need is a new one that best captures the complexity and beauty of urban life.
Moses and Jacobs: A Drama Fit for an Opera (Coming Soon to a Stage Near You)
Yes, the world of urban planning will soon get a star turn of epic proportions—as the focus of an opera currently in development and scheduled to debut in New York City in 2017.
Proposed California Law to Ensure Local Input Into Downtown Planning
California lawmakers have approved a bill that establishes oversight of elected officials over planning decisions of development corporations, such as that in downtown San Diego.

How Cities Derive Their Identities
While visiting Paris, San Diego landscape architect David McCullough pondered his own new world city's identity and concluded, counter-intuitively, his city's (and all cities') identity is defined by its diversity.
Remembering Urban Renewal on Jane Jacobs's Birthday
Some think of May 4 as Star Wars day, others remember May 4 as the birthday of Jane Jacobs. Charles Marohn suggests that May 4 should now be known as "Urban Renewal Remembrance Day."
Making Room for Skyscrapers in the Jane Jacobs Debate
A Market Urbanism op-ed makes the case for high-rise neighborhoods as an integral part of successful cities—even if some Jacobs fans tend to overlook the benefits of such parts of town.

Death and Life in Seoul
A new article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research tests whether Jacob’s ideas ring true for predicting pedestrian vitality in Seoul.
A Dissenting Take on the Nicollet Mall Planning Process
While many are excited about the prospect of James Corner Field Operations redesigning the Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, one commenter sees some of the worst dynamics of top-down planning at work.

Historic Preservation as the Enemy of Diversity
A recent article takes a controversial stance contrary to the argument of Jane Jacobs that old buildings equal affordable, diverse neighborhoods.

Jane Jacobs' Sidewalk Ballet, Gone Forever in New York City?
Alex Marshall discusses whether Jane Jacobs' famous "Sidewalk Ballet" is dead on the streets of New York City.
Applying Moses to Modern-Day Green Space Projects
Could the Los Angeles River use its own 'power broker'?

What Can a 'Science of Cities' Offer Planners?
Research across a range of fields is beginning to offer useful new guidance for planning policy and practice—and pointing the way to more effective "bottom-up" strategies.

Do Old Buildings Contribute to Economic Vitality?
Emily Badger crunches the data on the argument by Jane Jacobs regarding the importance of old buildings to the economic health and quality of life of cities—an opinion described by Badger as "received wisdom among planners and urban theorists."
Pagination
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service