Jane Jacobs: Champion of Neighborhoods and People

Every day I read about gas prices going up, beautiful farmlands that have given over to developers — or mega-stores — and the threat of global warming. Then, today, I read about a woman who died by the name Jane Jacobs. I had never heard of her, but she made it her mission to champion cities and neighborhoods and reduce the need for expressways. Evidently, she went head-to-head — and won — a battle with Robert Moses who wanted to build a freeway through Washington Square Park in Manhattan. Gotta love that.

Basically, she was an activist beating the drum against our dependency on cars and urban sprawl. And when I saw that Curbed started a contest to "name the Most Jane Jacobs Block in New York City," I knew she must be a pretty cool person.

I moved to Seattle about 7 months ago — mostly to take a job here at Zillow, but also for quality of life issues. I wanted to live in a city where I could know my neighbors, walk safely at all hours of day or night and where I could exist without my car. I can do all of these things. Happily, I’m living Jane Jacobs’ mantra.