In 1997, a conference here in Toronto called “Jane Jacobs: Ideas That Matter” gathered hundreds of the world’s most prominent thinkers and community leaders to exchange ideas and celebrate Jacobs’ work in the areas of cities, economies and values. The event culminated with the announcement of the Jane Jacobs Prize.
Today, the New York Sun and other media outlets are reporting:
The The Rockefeller Foundation announceed today the creation of a $200,000 award, called the Jane Jacobs Medal, to recognize individuals who have made a significant contribution to thinking about urban design, specifically in New York City. The medal will be given annually to two people: one who has made a lifetime contribution and another who is at the start of a promising career.
Also, worth noting in the Sun‘s story:
The recipients of the award will be announced in June, and an award ceremony will take place in September, simultaneously with the opening of an exhibit on Jacobs at the Municipal Art Society.
It is both coincidental and appropriate that Jacobs should be honored with an award in her name and an exhibit, just when her longtime nemesis, Robert Moses, is having something of a rehabilitation — or, at least, attracting a flurry of renewed interest — with a three-part exhibit devoted to his influence now open around town. Jacobs fought against many of Moses’s projects and was instrumental in defeating his plan for the Lower Manhattan Expressway. Through the years she bested Moses in public image and the long-term impact of her ideas.
photo from the Economist
4 comments
Those NY Sun embedded ads are pretty nifty, albeit a little confusing.
New York has definitely done much more to honor the late Jacobs than Toronto has.
Things move slower in Canada, generally. But also the Rockefeller Foundation is not “New York.” That is, it’s not an official recognition of her life from a civic body. I would say, judging how many times Jacobs is mentioned in reverential terms in and around Toronto, especially since she died, this city is honouring her all over the place, in similar symbolic but not-official ways. We just haven’t erected a statue, yet. They say she’d hate that — but I say too bad, she’s going to get one.
We’re also taking our time doing something about Pierre Elliot Trudeau. If we don’t do something soon, I will name my house Trudeau as a start.
Kevin,
There’s also a Robert Moses resurgence in NY. There’s a backpage article in Time Out NY with one of New York city’s chief planners; he said that Robert Moses is no longer such a dark figure in New York history because, increasingly, he’s seen as a man with a “can do” attitude, who was not afraid to ram ahead with large-scale projects – the kinds of things that can make (or break) a city. This is because of the current planning attitude in New York, where projects are stalled or stuck in financial limbo, or red tape threatens to bury them. I can cite a number of examples: the Moynihan Penn station, the 2nd Ave. subway line and, most visibly, a Ground Zero project that is still a dirt hole five years later. Putting these things into perspective, the momentum for change in Toronto is perhaps not so bad, after all. Eat your heart out, Christopher Hume.
EDIT: I should have read the spacing article more fully before I opened my mouth about Robert Moses.
Also, I need to work on my punctuation…