Jane Jacobs and Global Change

Andrew Blum on Jacobs, cities and the environment (pointer vis Steve Johnson).

We are wedging ourselves between a rock and a hard place: between the pleasures of medium-density living (Greenwich Village, Park Slope, Toronto’s Annex) and the ecological necessity of even more density. When it comes to our homes, we are all justifiably afraid of change, especially when it feels like (or is) destruction. But we don’t often pair that truth with another oft-repeated one: Our way of life is unsustainable. In North America’s most beautiful urban places, we unfailingly fight every new tall building in the name of “quality of life” and the “character of the neighborhood.” We claim to have internalized the idea that it’s all connected, that slowing the warming of the planet is a global project, but the nature in our backyards remains sacred—often to the point, perhaps, of self-destruction.

Blum makes some interesting points, But I'm not so sure that localism is the nub of the problem.  Our cities are much better today that they were before.  Density is increasing in Toronto and other cities. Nimbyism remains a force for sure.  The rise of a spiky world and the mega-region - the flip side of globalization - are generating tremendousn growth pressures in a dozen or two megas worldwide which are growing "up" as well as out.  Environment is a huge problem but it seems a stretch to blame localism and the residents of city neighborhoods.