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Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.

Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

HistoryArt

Why it matters

The idea in context

Jacobs had no training in planning. She was a magazine writer who looked out of her window in Greenwich Village and noticed that the streets officials called slums were working, and the tidy projects replacing them were not. The argument here is about rent, not nostalgia: new construction has to earn back its cost, so only proven, well-funded ventures can afford it. Bookshops, studios, odd little businesses and untested ideas need cheap old rooms.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Eski fikirler bazen yeni binaları kullanabilir. Yeni fikirlerin ise eski binalara ihtiyacı vardır.
Jane Jacobs, Büyük Amerikan Şehirlerinin Ölümü ve Yaşamı

Jacobs şehir planlama eğitimi almamıştı. Greenwich Village'daki penceresinden bakan bir dergi yazarıydı ve yetkililerin gecekondu dediği sokakların işlediğini, onların yerine yapılan derli toplu projelerin ise işlemediğini fark etti. Buradaki savı nostalji değil, kira: Yeni yapı, maliyetini geri kazanmak zorundadır; bunu da yalnızca kendini kanıtlamış, parası bol işler karşılayabilir. Kitapçıların, atölyelerin, tuhaf küçük dükkânların ve denenmemiş fikirlerin ucuz eski odalara ihtiyacı vardır.

Source trail

Read beyond the card.

Background reading: The Death and Life of Great American CitiesAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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