“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” — Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes held a special screening and discussion of Citizen Jane: The Battle for the City September 16, 2017. Jane Jacobs was an urban activist and public intellectual who “believed the city is not about buildings, the city is about people.” Jacobs’ life and activism are depicted in the documentary film, which chronicles her efforts to stop redevelopment of now-historic New York City neighborhoods in the 1960s.
As an added bonus the film’s producer, Robert Hammond, attended and participated in a discussion following the screening with the Urban Future Lab’s Dr. Antonio Petrov, which was moderated by journalist Kiko Martinez. Hammond, a San Antonio native who co-founded Friends of The High Line — the non-profit that created, maintains, operates, and programs the world-renowned NYC public park built on an historic elevated freight rail line — has long advocated that engaged citizens have the power to transform their cities.
“I did this movie, not for people to learn about Jane Jacobs, but to sort of spark a conversation about their own cities,” Hammond told the San Antonio Report in a recent interview.
Learn more in this San Antonio Report article promoting the screening:
https://sanantonioreport.org/alamo-drafthouse-to-screen-citizen-jane/
Learn more about the High Line:
http://www.thehighline.org/
