Broome Street, Nos. 504-506, Manhattan., 1935, The NYPL Digital Collections
It’s interesting to hear from some people who say that New York and San Francisco “are dead.”
Here’s Jane Jacobs in 1992 on cities as the regenerating seeds of healthy thriving economies (and the state of declining cities as symptoms of much deeper, systemic economic and societal issues):
“Cities are in a sense natural ecosystems too—for us. They are not disposable. Whenever and wherever societies have flourished and prospered rather than stagnated and decayed, creative and workable cities have been at the core of the phenomenon; they have pulled their weight and more. It is the same still. Decaying cities, declining economies, and mounting social troubles travel together. The combination is not coincidental.”
What do you think? Are cities dead?
Jane Jacobs… for young people!
From Rebecca Pitts for Seven Stories Press, JANE JACOBS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE is a Young Adult biography of Jane Jacobs, the visionary urbanist, thinker, and activist who believed in the power of ordinary citizens to reshape their communities — one neighborhood street, block, or business venture at a time. Forthcoming in 2021, Jane’s story will join the Young People's Series published by Seven Stories Press for their Triangle Square Books for Young Readers imprint. Find out more about the book right here...
