Comments on: Quoting Jane Jacobs

By: Aunt Katy

Aunt Katy — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:32:04 +0000

Loved this Mariah. Very interesting!

By: aloafofbread

aloafofbread — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:50:07 +0000

Wow, what great pics you found. Thanks for the interesting snippets.

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 02:07:28 +0000

I liked this edition–a little educational blurb that really packages the understanding well. Thanks!

By: The Chairman

The Chairman — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:24:18 +0000

I usually come on this site and say “Why the government on this one also?” Even though I am not sure exactly what Ms. Jacobs or the Spovangelist is advocating it seems like a more free market approach to providing for the needs of a community is underlying the thoughts presented here. My main argument when it comes to defending free market Capitalism is that it is results based while any kind of planned economy coming from a political body is election cycle based.

By: Contrarian

Contrarian — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 04:53:22 +0000

Wow, something on which we appear to see eye to eye.

See:

http://www.freespokane.net/?p=55

http://www.freespokane.net/?p=116

Unfortunately, many of Jane Jacobs’ admirers miss her point — that the problem is not the “wrong kind” of planning, and that the “right” kind will avoid fiascoes like “urban renewal,” but is *planning per se*, i.e., where development does not occur in response to the needs and desires of people, by trial and error on a site-by-site basis, but is specified in advance by bureaucrats pursuing some kind of utopian fantasy. Like the leftists embarrassed by Stalinism, they cling to their dogma by excusing its problems as due to “mistakes,” or to its having been corrupted by usurpers with nefarious agendas.

Cities are examples of “spontaneous order.” Planning is anathema to that order.