The best of QoC 2023
As 2023 comes to a close, it is customary to compile year-end lists of the work done throughout the year. At Question of Cities, we join the bandwagon not as an exercise in self-congratulation but more as a reflection of…
Reading Jane Jacobs today: Why her urban renewal agenda is still relevant
The doyenne of urban activism, Jane Jacobs, urged professional urban planners to understand that a city is more than its economy and its structures, that it is made by the everyday lives and interactions of people. Through her writings and…
Jane Walks: A global movement to connect with cities and communities
How well do you know your city and its neighbourhood? Have you explored its layers of history and observed the nooks and corners that are changing? When Jane Jacobs Walks started in 2007 in the United States, a year after…
Jane Jacobs for generations: Protester, urban thinker, people’s planner
Streets and sidewalks – often regarded as mundane — have immense significance in Jane Jacobs’ urban design vocabulary. Living and working in New York and Toronto, Jacobs (1916-2006) observed, scrutinised, and engaged with cities to emphasise people-centric planning. She is…
The life and times of Jane Jacobs, the urban activist who revitalised city planning
Jane Jacobs and her community-based ideas of urban planning snowballed into a movement as her influence spread. The urbanist and activist single-handedly transformed city-making and fought for a healthy, vibrant city. A series of engaging illustrations charts the life, times…