Jane Jacobs' legacy in Toronto

Anyone who has been surfin' the blogosphere over this week has probably heard that Jane Jacobs, urban thinker and critic, has died at the age of 89. Personally, I was suprised to see how much attention her death has been getting in the blogosphere and on the net in general. I have never read any of her books, but I have a basic knowledge of her as you might imagine because Kristina is an Urban Planner. Jacobs was very influential in the planning community over the past 40 years or so, and she was the sort of unique person who was adored and quoted by academics, planners, activists, and politicians alike. Jacobs was most respected for her ideas around cities and the importance of dynamic, vibrant, urban centres to all of society-a concept many of us take for granted today. During the 60s and early 70s, when oil was cheap and the suburbs were booming, she was preaching public transit and higher densities in downtown cores. She was a voice to a movement that needed a voice. Amazingly, she was completely self-educated and never received a college degree. In fact, she received dozens of offers for honorary degrees over her career, yet turned them all down! She was going strong till the end, I mean, how many people publish a book at 88 (Dark Age Ahead, 2004)?

One of the things she was famous for in Toronto was for leading the movement to stop the Spadina Expressway and other ambitous expressway projects that never came to pass in Toronto. I drew up a rough map to give you an idea of the 4 expressways that were actually proposed and approved in the late 60s and early 70s in Toronto. Land was bought for most of these and construction started on several of them too, but of course, none were ever completed.


Wow! Can you imagine what Toronto would look like if those expressways had all been built? I think it's safe to say that the gridlock problems in Toronto would be greatly alleviated, although there would probably be a lot more parking lots downtown and far fewer GO transit riders. Toronto would really be a driver's paradise! But of course, several neighbourhoods that are thriving today would probably not even exist-including the much beloved Annex.

Now the link factory!
Jane Jacobs obituaries:
New York Times
Toronto Star
Globe and Mail
Torontoist
Andrew Spicer

Wiki
Jane Jacobs
Spadina Expressway
Richview Expressway
Crosstown Expressway
Scarborough Expressway

Other
Toronto Transit article on defunct expressways
Torontoexpy.com - Crosstown
Torontoexpy.com - Scarborough
Old CBC clip of Jacobs "I hate University Avenue."