Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Role of the Sidewalk

To those that are reading this to keep track of the fun I'm having, I have to warn you I am also using this blog to also do homework. This is one of those posts that may seem dry and unexciting (unless you are into urban planning or enjoy technical jargon). For our second homework assignment, the PSU students in the group were assigned to read and discuss our observations of the first 3 chapters of the book The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs.

Jane Jacobs gives a great observation on the direction our planning of cities is going. The first chapter (which is actually the introduction) sets forth her intentions for the book in being an attack on planning and rebuilding and how it seems to be ignoring the needs of people in society. Jane Jacobs writes about how people in the field are mistaken in their methods of planning and are in turn teaching those mistaken methods to up and coming architects and city planners. An excellent metaphor was given relating the planning practice to old medical procedure "bloodletting", which actually hurt more people than it healed. The introduction is full of examples about city areas that were considered slums due to not being designed by modern minds, but instead are lively, healthy, busy, and wonderful areas to walk through and even live in. Jacobs also gives examples on the other end of the spectrum and talks about  "Garden Cities" and how some areas designed on the concept, in which the designer felt he had the best intentions in making a comfortable, beautiful neighborhood, have fell to shambles due to disrespect and in turn have become unlivable.

The second chapter of the book was focused on the safety that sidewalks brought to not only pedestrians, but the city as well. Throughout the reading, it is obvious Jane Jacobs refers to cities as living creatures, not just environments to live in. Instead of speaking of people, or traffic, or buildings, Jacobs sees the whole picture and speaks of the entire organism. This chapter goes into what Jacobs calls "barbarism", which is aggressive behavior such as tagging or other activities that make the environment menacing towards the people (who would then fear it). With the constant usage of the sidewalks, barbarism can be prevented and the users can have a better sense of safety as they move through the neighborhood. Another benefit mentioned is from eyes on the sidewalks and how a community can all watch for improper behavior such as a kidnapping.

In the third chapter of the book, Jane Jacob writes about how sidewalks can bring connections between people. She speaks of communities that know each other through meeting on the sidewalks and how those meetings can lead to a neighborhood trust of one another. A neat example is given of how a shop owner in a neighborhood can hold keys or packages and be trusted by many people in the neighborhood. Most of the chapter is used to explain how the togetherness of a neighborhood can be attributed to the life on the sidewalks.

As I've witnessed in my classes and roaming around Amsterdam, Delft, Pijnacker, and recently Houten here in the Netherlands, I've been able to see where Jane Jacobs was basing her view from. The city of Delft seems to be one of the healthiest towns I've been in and the sidewalk activity appears to be a major contributor. I walked through the town last Saturday (a day the market was in town) and it was great to see people mingling at coffee watching the crowds, people discussing objects for sale, or just saying hi to one another. On days without the market, areas around the city center are still full of people enjoying themselves and welcoming people they cross. I've also received a few welcomes myself from people passing me on the bike rides.

When it comes to thinking of safety on well connected streets, my experience in Amsterdam comes to mind. As I walked the crowded streets, I never once felt any fear of where I was at, even though I was in a completely unfamiliar area with a bunch of strangers that spoke a language I knew nothing about. The sidewalks of Amsterdam were bustling with activity, both tourism and people going about their daily routines, and everyone we talked to either to ask for directions or for help were more than happy to oblige.

By using what I've read about city health from the first three chapters of Jane Jacobs' book, I feel I've began to understand how some of cities here in the Netherlands have done so well over so long of time. By being connected through bike paths and sidewalks while making the automobile even more impersonal, cities have appeared very robust in health. It almost feels like the Dutch understand that by letting people have personal contact in the streets and sidewalks is a key to having a great livable community.

1 comment:

  1. Nice post Will. The tourists in Amsterdam are so numerous I sometimes wonder if there are any actual city residents left. It makes for a nice environment when we all can come in trying to observe a place and help out with the eyes on the street.

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