Sidewalks — A City's Natural Rhythm

For many, streets are purely transitory spaces — a way to go from point A to point B. This has become a reality through the automobile-centric principles that came to dominate urban planning in the United States and many rapidly urbanizing countries.

Jane Jacobs, one of the most influential urban activists of the 20th Century, argued against this phenomenon in her seminal work, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Drawing upon her experiences living in Greenwich Village on the West Side of Manhattan, she makes the case for streets and sidewalks being the essence of cities — indispensable to their character and identity.

Jane Jacobs, an Canadian-American urban activist who spoke out against the most powerful figures in urban planning to put forward her vision of a livable city (Nelson)

When Jacobs published the book in 1961, many US cities were embracing urban renewal as the new paradigm of development. Jacobs cautioned that this wave of regeneration was destroying the natural fabric of cities and making cities less vibrant, safe, and liveable.

When I read The Death and Life of Great American Cities, I was drawn by Jacobs’s focus on sidewalks. I had not paid much attention to the design of sidewalks before — I would imagine that most of us take it as a mundane and ubiquitous part of the urban environment. Jacobs’s arguments changed my opinion. She meticulously described the “intricate sidewalk ballet” she witnessed every day in Greenwich Village — the junior high school students dropping candy wrappers, taxis heading down from Midtown, and the white-aproned fruitman who acknowledges her as she passes by. The choreography of the sidewalk ballet is fortuitous — each individual goes about their separate routines, but together, they coalesce into a natural rhythm that becomes familiar but is never mundane.

Of course, not every sidewalk emanates this concordant ensemble. In new developments modeled after Le Corbusier’s vision of the Garden City, with its clear demarcations of working and living spaces, sidewalks become filled with the same scrambling crowds who leave it empty and lifeless for significant segments of the day. So, what makes one sidewalk more vibrant than the other?

Jacobs suggests three deciding factors. First, there must be a clear demarcation between public and private spaces to foster a sense of security. Second, there must be “eyes on the street.” Jacobs notes that most neighborhood policing is not done by law enforcement agencies but rather by a network of neighbors and shop owners who keep the peace. Third, sidewalks should have users continuously throughout the day.

If we put these conditions together, the caricature of a vibrant sidewalk becomes clearer. There would be clear divides between public and private property, but not to the extent where the street becomes closed and impermeable. Local businesses and storefronts open out onto the sidewalk, allowing their owners to keep watch for the neighborhood. The sidewalk will join homes, workplaces, and shops, creating a dense and mixed-use neighborhood that draws different crowds throughout the day.

The Yongjia Road Public Plaza in Shanghai. Completed in 2019, it has become an important node that has livened up the sidewalk and created a meeting space for the community (Shuang)

While The Death and Life of Great American Cities was written over 60 years ago, its vision remains relevant to urban planners today. In Shanghai, where I live, there has been an increase in initiatives that seek to do just what Jacobs recommends— pedestrianization has gained momentum in the downtown. The creation of pocket parks and pocket squares has also enriched the public nature of sidewalks. By drawing our attention away from macro-initiatives and idealistic blueprints and towards the everyday streets we frequent, I think Jacobs delivers a powerful message — urban planning should be rooted in the natural rhythms of cities and their diverse communities.

Bibliography

Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Vintage books ed, Vintage Books, 1992.

Nelson, Libby. ‘Jane Jacobs Believed Cities Should Be Fun — and Changed Urban Planning Forever’. Vox, 4 May 2016, https://www.vox.com/2016/5/4/11583342/jane-jacobs-100th-birthday.

Shuang, Han. ‘Pocket Plaza / Atelier Archmixing’. ArchDaily, 30 Nov. 2020, https://www.archdaily.com/952332/pocket-plaza-atelier-archmixing.