Tag Archives: Jane Jacobs

Really saving New York City

Posted on January 19, 2022 by David Brussat

Authorities in the Big Apple, including, it now seems, the state’s new governor, Kathy Hochul, have bought into a vision of Manhattan’s future that privileges the greedy moguls of high finance and their camp followers in high office. So what … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

My Jane’s Walk this Saturday

Posted on April 30, 2018 by David Brussat

My fourth Jane’s Walk tour of the waterfront along the Providence River takes place at 4 p.m. this Saturday, May 5. We will meet at the Crawford Street Bridge near Hemenways in the Rubik’s Cube and stroll north, heading west … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Jan Gehl’s misplacemaking

Posted on November 7, 2017 by David Brussat

ArchDaily has interviewed Jan Gehl, the noted Danish designer and theorist of placemaking. The article, “In the last 50 years, architects have forgotten what a good human scale is,” suggests that Gehl’s thinking, for all its merit, has not truly … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mehaffy on “gentrification”

Posted on June 14, 2017 by David Brussat

All change is bad. Take gentrification. Gentrification is when rich people suddenly take a liking to a poor part of town, move in, raise property values, and force longtime residents – that is, the poor – to move out. Right? … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Providence | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

My Jane’s Walk next week

Posted on April 29, 2017 by David Brussat

Jane Jacobs’s 101st birthday is coming up on Thursday, May 4, so my Jane’s Walk tour along the Providence waterfront, starting at Crawford Street Bridge near Hemenway’s, will be on Saturday, May 6. Providence’s river walks were part of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Jane Jacobs cornucopia

Posted on February 22, 2017 by David Brussat

Here is an excellent review of recent books published by and about Jane Jacobs in the past year, which was the centennial of her birth. “What Jane Jacobs Saw,” by Michael Lewis in the upcoming March issue of First Things, … Continue reading →

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Jane Jacobs at Ada Books

Posted on November 21, 2016 by David Brussat

The photo shows the late Jane Jacobs sitting on a stool at the White Horse Tavern, in Greenwich Village. On Saturday evening, I saw Jane Jacobs sitting on a table at Ada Books. She was in the form of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books and Culture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Hitler’s revenge on America

Posted on June 8, 2016 by David Brussat

The journal Places has published, as the inaugural installment in its Future Archive series of forgotten writing of the past century, a 1968 essay for Art in America by Sibyl Moholy-Nagy called “Hitler’s Revenge.” The essay is introduced by Despina … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How to keep Portland weird

Posted on May 31, 2016 by David Brussat

Portland, Ore., is a city so satisfied with itself that it can afford to enjoy a TV show, Portlandia, that makes fun of its foibles. And of course, foibles are easily fobbed off. They are not actual problems. Most cities … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Humor, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Krier: Politicians, take note

Posted on May 7, 2016 by David Brussat

Léon Krier, the architect, planner, theorist and master cartoonist who hails from Luxembourg, has called upon the European Union to build itself a new capital so that a way out of the world’s gathering problems might be forged. He says … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Landscape Architecture, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment