The Sidewalk Ballet Field Guide

The Sidewalk Ballet Field Guide is a growing collection of people, organizations, projects, books, ideas and ongoing conversations about cities and the people who shape them. It grows out of the podcast, but extends well beyond it—connecting the people doing the work, the places where it’s happening, and the ideas, experiments and resources worth carrying forward. Think of it as part reference library, part trail of breadcrumbs: a way to follow the conversation wherever it leads.

Explore by type, browse alphabetically or by date, or search for something specific. Follow the tags to discover connections—or explore the map to see where the people, projects and ideas in the Field Guide take us.

Chip Chip 7/19/26 Chip Chip 7/19/26

Ice Cream Tour of California

Don Lane’s month-long celebration of ice cream, small pleasures, and the places that create them. During July 2026, he traveled across California visiting nearly 100 independent ice cream shops—not to rank them, but to celebrate everyday sources of joy in communities across the state.

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Walking in the City with Jane

Susan Hughes’ illustrated children’s book introduces young readers to Jane Jacobs through the curiosity and careful observation that shaped her ideas about cities. It follows Jacobs from her fascination with everyday urban life to her celebrated fight against plans that threatened New York neighborhoods.

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Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs was a writer, activist, and urban thinker whose close observation of everyday street life transformed how generations understand cities. Her work challenged top-down planning and championed mixed uses, short blocks, density, and the complex social choreography of sidewalks and neighborhoods. Her description of that choreography gave Sidewalk Ballet its name.