The Freedom Tower, Back from the Drawing Board

When presented a year ago, the design for the Freedom Tower at Ground Zero was roundly criticized here and elsewhere for its fortress-like base.
As reported in the NYT, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill have unveiled a redesigned base that dispenses with the oppressive blank metal wall in favor of a 187-foot-high pedestal made of prisms of translucent glass.
It's an improvement, but I'm still skeptical by the notion that our cities can be rendered bombproof without losing too much of the street life that make urban living worthwhile. What would Jane Jacobs think?

Illustration: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill