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Ed Glaeser on Jane Jacobs
His bottom line:
Successful cities need both the human interactions of Jane Jacobs and the enabling infrastructure of Robert Moses.
Here is the longer piece. Hat tip goes to Ezra Klein.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on September 4, 2009 at 08:56 PM in Economics | Permalink
Comments
I think Jane Jacobs just rolled over in her grave.
Posted by: Josh at Sep 4, 2009 10:22:16 PM
The problem is not in what Moses did; but in how he did it.
Posted by: Russell Nelson at Sep 5, 2009 2:14:29 AM
Tyler, which city do you think has the best balance between human interaction and infrastructure? I can think of Rotterdam or Zurich, but I have no idea.
Posted by: londenio at Sep 5, 2009 2:58:36 AM
If, as a culture, we feel it is important to subsidize the automobile to the extent that it becomes the dominant and requisite form of transportation, I guess he's right. But if our goal is wonderful, thriving cities, I remain unconvinced.
http://marketurbanism.com/ has a bunch of commentary rebutting this urban legend.
Posted by: Geoff at Sep 5, 2009 7:15:35 AM
@londenio I think Tokyo comes relatively close as well.
Posted by: Sean Brown at Sep 5, 2009 8:40:24 AM
But successful cities do NOT need the 12-jobs-at-once, no-accountability, power-brokering abuses of Robert Moses to have the infrastructure of Robert Moses.
Posted by: KipEsquire at Sep 6, 2009 10:33:34 AM
Russell Nelson:
The problem is also what Moses did. Consider this passage in Wikipedia, based on Caro's book on Moses:
For example, the construction of low overpasses on parkways were made purposely too low for buses to clear, and the veto against extending the Long Island Rail Road to Jones Beach, were to prevent the poor and racial minorities (largely dependent on public transit) from accessing the beach, while providing easy car access for wealthier white groups. In furtherance of this point of view, Caro also notes the provision of numerous park amenities on the West Side highway below 125th Street (the main street of Harlem) versus the provision of few (if any) amenities north of 125th Street. Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters (both of which sit in the northern part of Manhattan Island) were built in Inwood, then an Irish Catholic neighborhood, rather than Harlem which is predominantly black.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moses
Posted by: marcel at Sep 8, 2009 9:50:59 AM
I first saw a link to Glaesner's "New Republic" review of "Wresting With Moses" two days ago on the "City Comforts" blog. Since I couldn't find a way to post comments on the "New Republic" website (I suppose you have to be a subscriber), I submitted my own (long!) mini-review of Glaesner's essay, to the "City Comforts" website, and they kindly posted it there.
I hope those who are interested in the topic (Cities, Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses, etc.) will visit that thread, which is dated September 5, 2009 and entitled, "Edward Glaesner on Jacobs and Moses." Although I generally admire Glaesner, I believe this particular essay contains a number of very substantial errors (which I discuss).
Here's a link:
http://citycomfortsblog.typepad.com/cities/2009/09/edward-glaeser-on-jacobs-and-moses.html#comments
If the link doesn't work, the "City Comforts" website and blog can be easily found by entering "City Comforts" into a search engine.
Tues., Sept. 8, 2009 -- 8:53 pm.
Posted by: Benjamin Hemric at Sep 8, 2009 8:53:10 PM
