I fully believe that the vitality of a city can be measured by the amount of people jaywalking. It's inconceivable that the law can tell you where you can and cannot walk. Like breathing and eating, walking is a fundamental part of our existence. Coloring within the lines - it's the act of automatons. Just like a canvas is meant to be filled with brush strokes and splashes of color, so too should a city be filled with people traversing its spaces, exploring and exploiting its nooks and crannies.
Streets are the largest parcels of open space in any city, and they belong to the people.
The frenetic activity and entropy of city streets is exciting, it's infectious, it livens the pulse. The marketplace of ideas and mingling of cultures. It's in the streets. When I first began cycling around San Francisco a few years ago my eyes opened to a new dimension that was not home or work. It was not inside a store or restaurant, it was not contained or commercially oriented.