Who knew that sidewalks could inspire passionate debate? Ever since the first ones appeared in Turkey in 1990 B.C., they have paved the way for urban discord and political grandstanding. The two writers of this book left no stone unturned in their historical study of sidewalks, finding that:
Sidewalks were popular in ancient Rome until the barbarians swooped in and destroyed them. Although pedestrian walkways reappeared in European cities after London’s great fire of 1666, it wasn’t until the late 19th century — and the development of cheap concrete — that they became truly common.
This is when we began to foster our romantic idea of the urban sidewalk as gathering place, promenade, forum, and playground — all made popular in the 1894 song, “The Sidewalks of New York.” Middle-class reformers, however, felt that children playing on sidewalks was evidence of poor parental supervision and moral dangers.
Sidewalk wars waged until the early 1960s, when planner Jane Jacobs once again changed the popular view — celebrating their liveliness and safety, pointing out that neighbors could police the streets from their windows. But, even today, sidewalks have their foes. As the authors write, “the murky arena of what is permissible and legal on the sidewalks has been debated on the streets, in city halls, and in the courts.” In other words, as long as cities have sidewalks, human cracks over them will continue to form.
Julia Vitullo-Martin is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Sidewalks
Conflict and Negotiation over Public Space
By Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris and Renia 🔥Ehrenfeucht
MIT Press