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September 26, 2007
Seeing the city through Jane Jacobs’ eyes
MetroNY
Reporter Amy Zimmer checks out the Municipal Art Society's Jane Jacobs exhibit:
The exhibit’s project manager, Tim Mennel, said the show isn’t really about Jacobs — the journalist, activist and West Village resident whose 1961 book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” celebrated community participation over professional planners’ superblocks. “We want people to walk out and say, ‘OK, what am I going to do?’”
The Municipal Art Society is an advocacy organization, not a museum. “[The exhibit is] a jumping off point to get people involved in asking questions about the city now,” considering large-scale developments such as Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards project.
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Pointing to that supermarket, Mennel said, “Practically every neighborhood wants a little gentrification. But something Jane Jacobs talked about is ‘oversuccess,’” — when dynamic neighborhoods start attracting more money and change. This idea is discussed by developers like Douglas Durst in of one of the seven public programs and eight walking tours accompanying the exhibit.
NoLandGrab: Norman Oder and Ron Shiffman's walking tour of "The Atlantic Yards Footprint and Environs" is this Saturday. Details here.
Posted by lumi at September 26, 2007 7:25 AM