Jane Jacobs
Born 4 May 1916 · Died 25 April 2006
From Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States · Nationality: Canada, United States · Writes nonfiction
Jane Jacobs (born Jane Butzner; May 4, 1916 – April 25, 2006) was a Canadian and American journalist, author, and activist best known for her influence on urban studies. Her influential book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) argued that urban renewal did not respect the needs of most city-dwellers. The book also introduced sociology concepts such as "eyes on the street" and "social capital".
Jacobs was well known for organizing grassroots efforts to protect existing neighborhoods from "slum clearance" – and particularly for her opposition to Robert Moses in his plans to overhaul her neighborhood, Greenwich Village. She was instrumental in the eventual cancellation of the Lower Manhattan Expressway, which would have passed directly through SoHo and Little Italy, and was arrested in 1968 for inciting a crowd at a public hearing on the project. After moving to Toronto in 1968, she joined the opposition to the Spadina Expressway and the associated network of expressways in Toronto planned and under construction.
As a mother and a female writer who criticized experts in the male-dominated field of urban planning, Jacobs endured scorn from established figures, who called her a "housewife" and a "crazy dame." She did not have a college degree, or any formal training in urban planning, and was criticized for being unscholarly and imprecise.
Quotes
“Great cities are not like towns, only larger. They are not like suburbs, only denser. They differ from towns and suburbs in basic ways, and one of them is that cities are, by definition, full of strangers.”
The Death and Life of Great American Cities, p. 30 “Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.”
The Death and Life of Great American Cities “In wretched outcomes, the devil is in the details.”
Dark Age Ahead, p. 153 “I have learned yet again (this has been going on all my life) what folly it is to take any thing for granted without examining it skeptically.”
Dark Age Ahead, p. 179 “Virtually all ideologues, of any variety, are fearful and insecure, which is why they are drawn to ideologies that promise prefabricated answers for all circumstances.”
Dark Age Ahead, p. 115
Quotes from Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Books by Jane Jacobs in order
Books by Jane Jacobs in the order they were published, from The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) to Sebastian Yatra Adult Coloring Book (2019).
- 1The Death and Life of Great American Cities
The Death and Life of Great American Cities1961 - 2Reprints of Three Reviews of The Death and Life of Great AmeReprints of Three Reviews of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, by Jane Jacobs, Random House. 19611962
- 3The Economy of Cities
The Economy of Cities1969 - 4Canadian Cities and Sovereignty Association
Canadian Cities and Sovereignty Association1980 - 5The Question of Separatism
The Question of Separatism1980 - 6Understanding Low Income FamiliesUnderstanding Low Income Families1980
- 7Cities and the Wealth of Nations
Cities and the Wealth of Nations1984 - 8Systems of Survival
Systems of Survival1992 - 9Edge of Empire
Edge of Empire1996 - 10A School Teacher In Old Alaska
A School Teacher In Old Alaska1997 - 11The Nature of Economies
The Nature of Economies2000 - 12Dark Age Ahead
Dark Age Ahead2004 - 13Jane Jacobs : The Last Interview
Jane Jacobs : The Last Interview2016 - 14Vital Little Plans
Vital Little Plans2016 - 15Architecture and GeographyArchitecture and Geography2017
- 16Sebastian Yatra Adult Coloring BookSebastian Yatra Adult Coloring Book2019
- 17Systemes De SurvieSystemes De Survie