Jane's Walk: 94117

good reads to feed your inner urbanist

From our counterpart JanesWalk host in Phoenix, AZ, Yuri Artibise:

Jane Jacob’s The Death and Life of Great American Cities tops the list (fitting as it was itself wrtitten by an amateur urbanist)

1. The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs (1961). At about 450 pages, “concise” is probably not the most apt description of this book. But, as this is the single best written, most accessible, most compelling book I’ve ever read about cities, I’m willing to forsake the concision criterion even in my first recommendation. If you want to know what can make cities pleasant, safe and interesting places to live, read this book. If you want to read one of the best non-fiction prose stylists of our time, read this book. It’s a classic, and deservedly so. As one Where reader put it: “It’s a great book for explaining why we care about all of this.”
2. The Option of Urbanism by Christopher Leinberger (2007). While not as fun to read as The Death and Life of Great American Cities or The Geography of Nowhere (see below), this slender volume briskly highlights difference between drivable sub-urban development and walkable urban development, and does a good job of explaining the benefits of walkable city neighborhoods. It’s good primer on the basics of density, zoning and the hidden subsidies fueling drivable sub-urban development.

3. The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler (1993). This book is an exploration—and excoriation—of the rise of suburbia and sprawl. It also explains how the more traditional patterns and places of city life and country life are superior to the “geography of nowhere.” Accessible and ferocious.

4. Cities Back from the Edge by Roberta Gratz, with Norman Mintz (1998). According to a Where reader, this book is “in the spirit of Jacobs” and discusses “how existing cities can be improved with citizen participation in contrast to destructive master plans.” The book is filled with lots of specific ideas about how to improve downtown areas, all of them lavishly illustrated with real life examples from successful efforts in dozens of cities.

5. How Cities Work by Alex Marshall (2000). Squarely aimed at the lay person, this book seeks to discover what forces shape places and cities—and finds that one of the most powerful forces is political choices, particularly those having to do with transportation policy. A Where reader gave this recommendation: “It’s not comprehensive, of course, but it’s a good snack, possibly the kind that could interest a person in a larger meal.”

my own add:

Crabgrass Frontier by Kenneth Jackson (1987). Not that it’s a book on Urbanism, per se, but it chronicles the rise of suburbanism, and the environmental and social dilemmas that resulted. Urbanism incognito!

~NM

gearing up for the ‘dry walk’

Megan, Wes and I decided we’d put a bunch of effort into the planning for the May 2 Jane’s Walk, and to do it only once? seemed a bit.. meh. So we’re doing it twice! Our ‘dry walk’ is tomorrow morning, and we’ve invited a plethora of other urban appreciateurs along for the stroll, to give us a taste of what a reacting, positing, discussionistic (is that a word? it should be!) group will be like. We’re riled up and ready to go!

Our goal from this is to pick up additional tips and perspectives, refine our message and practice our ‘eliciting engagement’ skills before the REAL walk.  We’ll hopefully have some pics to post that’ll give a glimpse of what’s in store for May 2, and a few exit interviews from our volunteer walkers, as well!

~NM

…capturing the Then and Now

Writer and film director Ralph Arlyck first met Sean while living as a graduate student in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury neighborhood at the height of the 1960s. The precocious 4-year-old would occasionally wander downstairs to visit and talk-and one day Arlyck turned on his camera. The result was a controversial 15-minute documentary that gained national attention.

Thirty years, three generations, and a lifetime later, Arlyck has returned to San Francisco in search of who the adult Sean might have become.

Following Sean

tips for Jane’s Walkers

1. Wear comfortable shoes! There are 2 walk options: 9-10:30am starting in the Panhandle, Masonic @ Fell, and an additional walk 10:30-12-ish starting at Carl/Cole. The early walk is approximately 8 blocks, relatively level. The later walk is considerably longer, and involves HILLS! (not for the faint of heart!) Please plan for your foot comfort accordingly!

2. Bring your A Game! We want this to be a discussion, NOT a ‘tour’! We’ve dug up juicy facts about the ‘hood, and will be armed with Jane Jacob’s insight, but the REAL focus of the walk is in the EXPERIENCE. We expect different perspectives and opinions from everyone who participates, and hope that you’ll share ‘em as we stroll along!

3. Bring water and a sweater! As the past week has made abundantly clear, weather conditions in SF can spin on a dime! Dress for moderate weather, with the ability to add a layer (or peeeeeeeel one off!) and BYO-Water/Coffee/Soda. There are places along the route to get a refreshment, but we can’t stall the walk for cashier lines, as we’ve got a rendezvous with Nikki for the 10:30 walk.