Lynne Elizabeth

Stephen A. Goldsmith

Leading thinkers offer fresh insight into the workings of vibrant, ecological, equitable communities and their economies.

Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs

What We See

A timely revisitation of renowned urbanist-activist Jane Jacobs' lifework, What We See invites thirty pundits and practitioners across fields to refresh Jacobs' economic, social and urban planning theories for the present day. Combining personal and professional observations with meditations on Jacobs' insights, essayists bring their diverse experience to bear to sketch the blueprints for the living city. The book models itself after Jacobs' collaborative approach to city and community building, asking community members and niche specialists to share their knowledge with a broader community, to work together toward a common goal of building the 21st-century city. The resulting collection of original essays expounds and expands Jacobs' ideas on the qualities of a vibrant, robust urban area. It offers the generalist, the activist, and the urban planner practical examples of the benefits of planning that encourages community participation, pedestrianism, diversity, environmental responsibility, and self-sufficiency. Bob Sirman, director of the Canada Council for the Arts, describes how built form should be an embodiment of a community narrative. Daniel Kemmis, former Mayor of Missoula, shares an imagined dialog with Jacobs, discussing the delicate interconnection between cities and their surrounding rural areas. And Roberta Brandes Gratz?urban critic, author, and former head of Public Policy of the New York State Preservation League?asserts the importance of architectural preservation to environmentally sound urban planning practices. What We See asks us all to join the conversation about next steps for shaping socially just, environmentally friendly, and economically prosperous urban communities.

Ronald Shiffman

Rick Bell

Lance Jay Brown

Protests from Tahrir Square to Zuccotti Park have brought the crisis of public space to the forefront of our attention: Where can the public congregate? How can city planning, design, and policies support First Amendment rights to public assembly and free speech? Forty experts in social science, planning, design, civil liberties, urban affairs, and the arts use the Occupy movement as a springboard for original, multidisciplinary essays that address these exigent questions. This foundational book puts issues of democracy and civic engagement back into the center of dialogue about the built environment.

Freedom of Assembly and the Occupation of Public Space

Beyond Zuccotti Park

Suzanne Young

A full-color celebration of citizen artists revitalizing their communities.

Building Village Through the Arts

Works of Heart

In the wake of the Occupy movement, leading planners and social scientists examine public space today and freedom to assemble.

Lynne Elizabeth

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