18 - Urban Planning Critiques Flashcards
Background information of Robert Moses
- City planner for NYC
- embraced modernist urban planning
- known for gutting established neighbourhoods (called them slums) to build freeways and modern housing complezes
What did Robert Moses consider slums?
Established Neighbourhoods
What would Robert Moses do to “slums”
gut them, and build freeways and modern housing complexes
How did Jane Jacobs see Robert Moses?
- saw him as a horrible person
- destroyed small businesses (owners/proprietors ruined)
- whole communities torn apart
What did Jane Jacobs think of Robert Moses’s idea of building freeways?
- cities are more intricate than just traffic (economic and social concerns)
- how can you know what to try with traffic until you know how the city itself works
Jane Jacobs: How can you know what to try with traffic until you know how the city itself works
You Can’t
What does Jane Jacobs book do?
- Criticizes Modernist Urban Planning
- mostly an attempt to introduce new principles of city planning and rebuilding
How was the North End Boston viewed as a slum?
- embodies attributes which enlightened people know are evil
- bumped right up against industry
- has all kinds of working places and commerce mingled with its residences
- has the highest concentration of dwelling units
- has little park land
- children play in the streets
- “everything about the north end is wrong”
What is pursued in planning exercises for the North End?
- cleaned up
- converting it to super-blocks and promenades
- taking away non-conforming uses
- transforming to ideal order and social superiority
- simple
How was the North End of Boston a Vibrant community?
- streets were alive: children playing, people shopping, people strolling, people talking
- different types of shops (varied from food stores to food processing, and metal working to upholstery making)
How was the North End of Boston a Healthy Community?
- low delinquency
- low disease
- low mortality rates
- lowest ratio of rent income in the city
Who came up with “The Uses of Sidewalks: Safety”
Jane Jacobs
What are 3 qualities of Safe Streets?
- Clear demarcation between public space and private space
- must be eyes upon the streets
- sidewalks must have users on it fairly continuously
How does Jane Jacobs describe Surveillance and Mutual policing (safety on streets?)
- surveillance sounds grim but not grim
- must have this to make people feel safe
- stores, bars and restauraunts help abet sidewalk safety
What are 4 ways that contribute to safe streets?
- give people concrete reasons for using the sidewalks
- draw people along the sidewalks past places which have no attractions to public use in themselves
- storekeepers and small businessmen are typically strong proponents of peace and order
- activity generated by people on errands, or people aiming for food and drink, is itself an attraction still other people
