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A timely revisitation of renowned urbanist-activist Jane Jacobs' lifework, What We See invites thirty pundits and practitioners across fields to refresh Jacobs' economic, social and urban planning theories for the present day. Combining personal and professional observations with meditations on Jacobs' insights, essayists bring their diverse experience to bear to sketch the blueprints for the living city.
The book models itself after Jacobs' collaborative approach to city and community building, asking community members and niche specialists to share their knowledge with a broader community, to work together toward a common goal of building the 21st-century city.
The resulting collection of original essays expounds and expands Jacobs' ideas on the qualities of a vibrant, robust urban area. It offers the generalist, the activist, and the urban planner practical examples of the benefits of planning that encourages community participation, pedestrianism, diversity, environmental responsibility, and self-sufficiency.
Bob Sirman, director of the Canada Council for the Arts, describes how built form should be an embodiment of a community narrative. Daniel Kemmis, former Mayor of Missoula, shares an imagined dialog with Jacobs, discussing the delicate interconnection between cities and their surrounding rural areas. And Roberta Brandes Gratz?urban critic, author, and former head of Public Policy of the New York State Preservation League?asserts the importance of architectural preservation to environmentally sound urban planning practices.
What We See asks us all to join the conversation about next steps for shaping socially just, environmentally friendly, and economically prosperous urban communities.
— Neal Peirce
"In this book are the testimonials of 'Jane's children'... building on what she began back in the '60s. It's taken a long time, but it's happening."
— David Byrne
"A delicious international and interdisciplinary banquet of offerings to honor the passionate and multifaceted work of our beloved urbanist, Jane Jacobs."
— Wendy Sarkissian
"How can one resist cheering on this urban original?... We see how Jane Jacobs and our neighborhoods live on through her ideas."
— Victor S. Navasky
"The reflections on this remarkable woman, and the still-unfolding project of city-building today, are a joy to read."
— Anthony Flint
"The essayists in What We See have built on those essential footholds that people who have never heard of Jane Jacobs will benefit them for decades."
— Majora Carter
"A moving and enlightening tribute to the ideas and methods of Jane Jacobs... that will inspire others to observe closely, contemplate broadly, and engage civically."
— Glenna Lang
"There is no better starting place for re-evaluating tomorrow's complex cities than this book, which is full of the wisdom and insight Jane Jacobs so astutely taught us... Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"
— Fred Kent