Thursday 14 February 2013

Jane Jacobs quote for Valentine's Day

And my wife said that placemaking had nothing to do with Valentine's Day...

"Neighbourhood is a word that has come to sound like a Valentine. As a sentimental concept, 'neighbourhood' is harmful to city planning. It leads to attempts at warping city life into imitations of town or suburban life. Sentimentality plays with sweet intentions in place of good sense."

- Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

I reckon that if Jacobs was writing today she'd swap "neighbourhood" with "sense of community".

2 comments:

  1. Yes! Totally agree that 'Sense of Community' deserves some ... grilling ...

    Her 'neighborhoods' though ... I don't think that is trite in Australia.

    I think there's mileage in it here.

    What do you think?

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