Jane Jacobs

Manuela Sławińska

Jane Jacobs was an American-Canadian journalist, activist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She is best known for her urban studies, and also for organizing demonstrations in favour of existing neighborhoods. She was arrested in 1968 for inciting a crowd at a public hearing. In her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities written in 1961, she describes in simple way issues of society such as safety. In the chapter „The uses of the sidewalk” author presents an important, underestimate role of existing sidewalks. „(...) city sidewalks serve many purposes besides carrying pedestrians.” In her opinion, these parts of infrastructure decide, if city is safe or unsafe, because by saying: „I feel safe in my city” we mean, we feel safe on its streets, sidewalks. In the chapter, we have pointed

Cameras are present in public transport and shopping malls. They are indeed, very useful when it comes to tracking a criminal, but the idea of being watched 24/7 is not the most desired. The idea of what might happen and how the future may looks like with cameras literally everywhere is provided in the book Nighteen Eighty-For written by George Orwell. There we face the society being manipulated and controlled on every step of their lives by the system. Independent thinking is not allowed to inhabittans of descirbed Lodon. Even though, the world presented in the book is just a fiction, seeing cameras everywhere gives food for thoughts. Safety is the most important factor. Without it, people are not able to create their lives. It should be provided in the first place. Normal people – just like Jane Jacobs states – are the main mean to keep the feeling of safety. We should intervene if we see danger happens to someone. If we feel powerless, we should always call for help. There are, though, situations when seconds matters and we can save someone's