On the eve of the annual ‘Jane’s Walk’ in cities around the world, join BSA Space for a screening of Citizen Jane, a documentary that tells the story of a David-and-Goliath fight over urban planning that took place more than 50 years ago.

Synopsis

In 1960 Jane Jacobs’s book The Death and Life of Great American Cities sent shockwaves through the architecture and planning worlds, with its exploration of the consequences of modern planners’ and architects’ reconfiguration of cities. Jacobs was also an activist, who was involved in the conflicts in mid-century New York, to stop “master builder” Robert Moses from running roughshod over the city. This film retraces the battles for the city as personified by Jacobs and Moses, as urbanization moves to the very front of the global agenda. Many of the clues for formulating solutions to the dizzying array of urban issues can be found in Jacobs’s prescient text, and a close second look at her thinking and writing about cities is very much in order. This film sets out to examine the city of today through the lens of one of its greatest champions.

This screening is is part of the 2017–2018 BSA Space Film Series documenting some of the ways that architecture and design can engage communities, inspire vision, and provoke change. Complimentary refreshments and popcorn will be served. All proceeds from the series support the BSA Foundation.

Film running time: 92 minutes

Image: Screenshot from Citizen Jane.

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The 2017 BSA Space Film series is supported by: