ABSTRACT
Andy Warhol and Jane Jacobs both came to New York City from industrial cities in Pennsylvania—Jacobs from Scranton, Warhol from Pittsburgh. While social rituals such as dance steps do provide a mechanism by which people can reach outside of themselves and join a community, they also point to the essentially constructed nature of that community. There is nothing intrinsic about a community of dancers save that they have all consented to observe the codes required to be such a community. While Jacobs became well known for putting forth a model of urban community that was at odds with the dominant mentality as expressed through the various postwar urban-renewal programs, the contestation over the nature of urban community was a conversation that had more than two sides. The creation of a genuine and effective community— if we posit the possibility of such a thing— requires not only work and sacrifice but, in critical dimensions, a shared sense of purpose.
