Chapter 9 Summary

In this chapter Jane Jacobs discusses the importance of having small blocks in cities. She says that when you have smaller blocks there are a variety of routes that you can take to your destination, therefore giving you more opportunities to interact with people in your neighborhood. Jacobs gives the example of a person living on one street in Manhattan and they always walk down their street to the main avenue never using the adjacent streets. Jacobs argues that if they put a street midway between the avenues then people would be more inclined to vary their route and intermingle with people from the other streets. A somewhat good example of this, according to Jacobs, is Rockefeller Center. The Plaza bisects 48th to 51st street between 5th and 6th avenue all the people that would use these streets to interact. Jacobs believes that when planning a city there should be frequent streets and short blocks to promote cross use among the people that frequent the neighborhood.