Ideas out of context and the contextualization of ideas: The transference of Jane Jacobs to Sao Paulo

摘要

The mobility and contextualization of urban policies between localities have received significant attention in recent literature. A number of mechanisms have been identified, including "best practices," "policy tourism," multinational firms, and conferences have been identified. This article identifies a new mechanism: the translation and publication of seminal theses into additional languages. Using citations analysis and interviews in Sao Paulo, this mechanism is confirmed as an additional mode of transference and identified as being responsible for the growth in interest in Jane Jacobs in sao Paulo. However, this article finds that despite the increase in accessibility to her ideals, her emphasis on contextuality was overlooked in that case. This, in turn, calls attention to larger issues of the use of so-called 'universally-good' examples of urbanism. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.