Abstract

Since the almost simultaneous publication of Kevin Lynch and Jane Jacobs' seminal and pioneer urban manifestos, the discipline has been increasingly permeated by what could be rightly called the phenomenological impulse. While sharing methodological principles, however, they represent two very distinct approaches to the study of urban matters, a distinction rooted on their chosen object of study. The drawing of this distinction constitutes this research's point of departure. Its fundamental aim is to help further the development of what we characterize as the Jacobs's lineage of urban thought. To this end, the paper outlines methodological rudiments for the development of a methodological tool that would allow the beginning of a systematic study of the patterns of people's presence and absence in urban space (streets). We call it Urban Polaroid. This work is part of a government funded (fondecyt 11110450) project.