Center for the Living City

What Center for the Living City does

The Center for the Living City is a US-based nonprofit civic engagement organization founded in 2005 in collaboration with urbanist Jane Jacobs, distinguishing itself as the only urbanist organization founded in that capacity. The Center operates a portfolio of community-oriented programs including the global Jane Jacobs Walks initiative, the Observe Program targeting young women's civic engagement, the biennial Observe Scranton Festival, an Urban Studies academic partnership with Marywood University, a Books & Articles resource hub, an archive of Jane Jacobs interviews, and a forthcoming Observation Writers Lab launching Fall 2025. Its served populations include local citizens in Scranton and Northeast Pennsylvania, youth participants internationally with documented presence in India and Bangladesh, and the broader urbanist and activist community.

Name

Center for the Living City

Legal name

The Center for the Living City

Website

https://centerforthelivingcity.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Center for the Living City is a US nonprofit co-founded with Jane Jacobs in 2005, operating civic engagement programs including Jane Jacobs Walks, the Observe youth program, and the Observe Scranton Festival. It serves Scranton residents, urbanists, and international youth via foundation grants and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Engagement Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

akta.pro primary industry

Civic Education & Community Engagement (Voting, Local Government) (EDAAAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Programs (Digital Planning, Civic Tech for Cities) (BPAIANAJ), Civic, Citizenship & Community Engagement Education (EDAAAEAI), Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

Keywords

• Civic engagement programs
• Urban planning education
• Community development
• Youth empowerment
• Nonprofit urbanism

Headquarters

HQ city

New York, NY

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The Center generates revenue through individual donations and institutional grants. A donorbox.org donation page is referenced on the website. Major foundation support includes Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Knight Foundation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Center for the Living City runs community-based civic engagement programs rooted in Jane Jacobs' urbanist philosophy. Its primary offerings are Jane Jacobs Walks (worldwide volunteer-led community walks), the Observe Program (a youth civic engagement initiative for young women), and the biennial Observe Scranton Festival (a three-day urbanist celebration). It supplements these with an academic Urban Studies track through Marywood University and curated Books & Articles and Jane Jacobs interview archives.

Product overview

The Center for the Living City is a non-profit civic engagement organization offering multiple interconnected programs. Its core offerings include the Jane Jacobs Walks (worldwide community walking events), the Observe Program (youth empowerment initiative for young women), the biennial Observe Scranton Festival, and an Urban Studies partnership with Marywood University. The organization also maintains a Books & Articles resource hub and an archive of Jane Jacobs interviews. The programs are designed to foster civic engagement, advance urban planning principles inspired by Jane Jacobs, and empower community members to shape their cities through observation, creative expression, and collaborative action.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Observe Program: A youth civic engagement program that empowers young women to engage with their communities through civic action and creative expression, expanding globally with support from the Ford Foundation.
• Jane Jacobs Walks
• Observe Scranton Festival

Products and services

• Jane Jacobs Walks Free, community-led walking events held worldwide that allow participants to connect with neighbors, explore local surroundings, and discuss the places they live, inspired by Jane Jacobs' urban observation principles.
• Observe Program Youth civic engagement initiative that nurtures civically engaged voices of young women through community-based observation, creative expression, and civic action, expanded internationally with support from the Ford Foundation.
• Observe Scranton Festival A biennial celebration of the city through the lens of Jane Jacobs, featuring interactive workshops, panel discussions, art installations, performances, and community walks across venues in Scranton, PA.
• Observation Writers Lab Upcoming fall 2025 program providing girls in grades 7-12 with hands-on experience in community observation and storytelling to build critical thinking, leadership skills, and civic responsibility.

Quantifiable outcome

• Observe program expanded globally to India and Bangladesh with support from Ford Foundation

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Girl Scouts of the USAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to create and disseminate Observe program resources, building on successful pilot project with Girl Scout Troop 496 (Muslim Girl Scouts of Utah) in 2016. Focus on engaging young women in community observation and civic action.
• World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership to expand Observe program globally and create resources for youth civic engagement worldwide.
• Marywood UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership hosting the Center's Urban Studies program, School of Architecture collaboration, and Center for Urban Studies Ambassador Joshua Berman. Founding faculty member Maria MacDonald serves as Program Director of Interior Architecture at Marywood.
• Jane Jacobs WalkcoreOthersGlobal walking movement founded by Margie Zeidler and inspired by Jane Jacobs' principles. Annual events celebrating Jane Jacobs' life and ideas, organized by community volunteers worldwide.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Congress for the New Urbanism: A membership-based advocacy organization advancing walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods rooted in Jane Jacobs-era thinking. Operates in the same civic/urbanist space with conferences, publications, and grassroots chapters analogous to Jane Jacobs Walks.
• Jane's Walk: The global walking-event movement honoring Jane Jacobs' legacy, founded by Margie Zeidler — the same movement the Center partners with and prominently features. Direct overlap in program, audience, and mission with the Center's Jane Jacobs Walks.
• Project for Public Spaces: A nonprofit focused on placemaking and community-based urbanism that, like the Center for the Living City, runs educational programs and community engagement initiatives grounded in Jane Jacobs-influenced principles. Operates a global network and convenes practitioners, making it the closest functional peer.
• Strong Towns: A civic engagement and urbanist nonprofit that promotes bottom-up, community-driven approaches to city building — a directly comparable mission, donor-funded model, and education/community-event delivery to the Center's Jane Jacobs-based work.
• 1000 Friends of Oregon: A nonprofit advocacy organization promoting community-driven, sustainable urban growth and smart-growth land-use policy. Comparable mission and donor-funded nonprofit structure, though rooted in Oregon rather than national.

Regional players

• Municipal Art Society of New York: A NYC-based civic organization promoting thoughtful urban design and public-space engagement through tours, advocacy, and education — closely aligned with the Center's Jacobs-influenced, community-engaged approach but primarily serving New York City.
• PennPraxis: The applied-research arm of the University of Pennsylvania's Weitzman School, doing community-engaged urban planning and civic design work in Philadelphia. Comparable academic-anchored civic engagement model and Jacobs-adjacent philosophy, with regional rather than global scope.

Broad incumbents

• Smart Growth America: A larger, established coalition advocating for better urban planning policy nationwide. Overlaps with the Center's civic engagement and urbanist mission but operates at federal/state policy scale with a broader portfolio than the Center's community-level programs.
• American Planning Association: The largest U.S. professional organization for urban planners; provides urban planning education and advocacy at much greater scale. Comparable in mission space (urban planning education) but as a broad incumbent rather than a community-engagement specialist.

Emerging players

• PlaceMakers: A boutique consulting and education firm advancing Jane Jacobs-style placemaking and community-based planning; overlaps in audience (urbanists, planners) and Jacobs-influenced content but operates as a for-profit advisory rather than a donor-funded nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/centerforthelivingcity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-the-living-city

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center for the Living City