You’ll notice that there is a little less reading this week than there has been the last couple of weeks. This isn’t because the text is harder to understand. The reason I’m not asking you to read as much is that I want you to spend a bit of time (a good bit actually) in integrating the work of Jacobs with your investigation of your several cities. I’d like the members of each group to locate evidence of the type of thing Jacobs talks about in the city it is investigating, using some of the tools I’ve been mentioning to you in e-mails and on previous weekly syllabi. For example, once you’ve found out what a “border vacuum” is, locate visual evidence of one of those “border vacuums” in your own city. In some cities this will be more of a challenge than the others, but there should be no city in which it is impossible to do. The same would be true for the other concepts in the other chapters.
I would like each group to present at least one example of each major chapter concept. Decide among yourselves who does what. You can use the group tools (discussion boards, group e-mail, group chat, group file exchange) to sort out who does what. You may want to appoint an official “chairman”. IF you do, let me know who you appoint and I’ll see that person gets extra credit for the extra work.
Turn your examples into posts in your City Discoveries on Blackboard.
Notes on the Chapters
13. By now I think we get the idea that the only way to understand Cities is to recognize their dynamism. Cities are always changing, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. To this point we’ve noticed that some of the worst things which happen to cities happen because good-intentioned people, acting from ignorance, do the wrong thing. Self-destruction of Diversity looks at ways “success” can lead to failure. The process Jacobs identifies is “sorting out.” Make sure you understand what it is, how it works, and why it is ultimately harmful.
14. To understand border vacuums you’ll need to understand what borders are. Railroad tracks and interstate highways are obvious ones, and you need to look no further than the edges of Route 95 in Providence downtown in order to see the vacuums which Jacobs describes. Another good place to look is along route 195 near where it joins 95. There are other kinds of borders, too. These are more subtle, and you will need to understand what their characteristics are. Finally you’ll need to understand why Jacobs calls these vacuums “curses.”
15. Much of our civic energy is spent attacking the problem of slums. Jacobs understands perpetual slum areas as products of dynamic forces, what she calls a “vicious circle.” She then makes a rather astonishing claim that if the cycle can be broken, a slum will “unslum” itself, without massive public intervention. If that wasn’t radical enough, she goes on to suggest the factor which keeps a slum from unslumming is “too many people move out of it too fast–and in the meantime dream of getting out.” You will need to understand this claim. You will also need to distinguish between the idea of a “slum” and the idea of a “stable low-income area.” Finally, you will need to understand the ways slums spontaneously cure themselves by “unslumming.”
There is a special tool which can help most of you understand some of this better. Open Google Earth, and in the area entitled “layers” identify a file folder saying Gallery (Symbol is a star). Open that folder and scroll down until you locate a folder entitled Google Earth Community and locate the checkbox next to Housing Projects. Put a check in the box and a layer will be overlaid when you visit your city. The Housing Projects will be identified by the letter I. Where are they? Some of you will be able to see what they look like at ground level by Google Maps Street Level. Try that out. Does what you find suggest that what Jacobs says about traditional ways of treating slums is accurate or applicable in your city? (If your cities don’t have this available through google,...See if you can figure out an alternative way to uncover this or similar information)
16. Conservatives often accuse liberals of attempting to solve problems by “throwing money at them.” Jane Jacobs is no conservative, but she agrees in this one instance that what she calls “cataclysmic money” is harmful. Look at the examples she gives to understand what she means by “cataclysmic” money, and by “gradual” money as well. Why is the former harmful and the latter beneficial, and why, granting the harm it does, does “cataclysmic” money seem easier to come by than “gradual” money does? Again, you should be able to find examples of the application of gradual or cataclysmic money.
One of the many border vacuums in Providence, which saw itself sliced every which way when the interstate highway system was built. This image presents an area just a bit north of where Interstate 195 joins Interstate 95. Downtown Providence is immediately off the image at the top right. Though an easy walk to downtown, the area is much decayed. Many parking lots here, few cars. Who would use the athletic field? Look at this area at street level by scrolling to the bottom of the page.
Another complicated Providence Border Vacuum... The ribbon winding through here consists of the extension to route 6 plus the Amtrak main line to New York City, just a bit down from the Providence Mall. At the left are factories of late 19th century vintage. Originally, these would have been accessible by foot from the housing to the right.
A Providence neighborhood slowly unslums: PPSRF (Providence Preservation Society Revolving Fund) assisted Stop Wasting Abandoned Property, a statewide CDC, in obtaining State and Federal Historic Tax Credits for the rehabilitation of 7 houses on the upper part of Pine Street. These typical multi-family structures of the late 19th and early 20th century were originally built for the growing middle class in Providence. Prior to renovations, the houses were in very poor condition mostly due to fire and abandonment. Today the restored buildings house 30 affordable apartments. The project also used Low Income Tax Credits and HOME funds.
North Beach, San Francisco, is one slum which "unslummed" itself. Once San Francisco's "Little Italy" and later home to the "Beatniks" ithas become gentrified in the last decades of the 20th century. "Gradual money" accomplishes projects like this one: a building from the early 20th century is being jacked up to insert a garage underneath, and the entire area now serves an upscale population with toney boutiques, bars, and specialty stores. Click on the illustration to visit a North Beach website, and browse there awhile.
East Harlem, alternately known as Spanish Harlem or El Barrio, is another area which struggles to escape the designation of slum. The website of East Harlem, declares "Although classified as a 'poor' community by many, East Harlem is rich in culture, political activity, ideas, ideals, religion, and people" The Hope Community Center is pictured on the left, and notice how many of Jane Jacobs views on neighborhood safety are represented there. Click on the picture to visit the website.
17.Subsidizing Dwellings, pp. 321-337 (ML 417-439)
17.This chapter should not provide too much difficulty. The argument Jacobs made when this book was published has pretty much been accepted by the population at large in the years since. Note how she separates the housing needs of people from the concept of housing affordability. Certain populations do have special needs, but the poor are not in that category simply because of their poverty. Note the key elements of her solution. Visit the website of your city to see how problems of affordable housing are handled there. Are they attempting anything like what Jacobs suggests?
An organization very active in providing low income housing now was not on the scene when Jacobs’ book was written. I’m referring to Habitat for Humanity, and I suggest you visit its website. Then locate the affiliates page, and see what houses have been built in your city. Are they built according to Jacobs’ principles?
