[gl338]

Hi Devon, thanks for writing this. Have you spent much time reading Jane Jacobs or "Seeing Like a State"? Both talk a bit about the lack of ability to truly plan cities (and even make references to chaos theory), leading them both to the conclusion that grassroots-oriented planning (i.e., making cities walkable, focusing on localized communities, etc.) will lead to healthier and better experiences for citizens.

Barcelona's superblocks[1] might be a good example of this, but we'll know in a couple of years.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/may/17/superblocks-r...

[devonzuegel]

Yes! My interest in cities originated from a biography on Robert Moses, and in my quest to learn more I quickly fell into the works of Jane Jacobs. Her ideas are foundational to the way I think about urban planning.

I've read excerpts of "Seeing Like a State", but not the whole thing – thanks for the reminder! I should go back and read through it further.

The superblocks project is fascinating. I'm excited to see how that pans out. Hopefully I can get myself over to Barcelona to see it in person some time soon. :)

[MaysonL]

The author (James C. Scott) seems to have a quite interesting career and bibliography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Scott