Her father was a physician and her mother taught school and worked as a nurse. The death and life of great american cities by jane. The death and life of great american cities summary. Jane jacobs provides a candid framework for understanding what makes cities work and why. Jane jacobs jane jacobs critiques the comprehensive modernist approach to urban planning after 1945. Her 1961 treatise, the death and life of great american cities, became perhaps the most influential american text about the inner workings and failings of cities, inspiring generations of urban planners and activists. Thirty years after its publication, the death and life of great american cities was described by the new york times as perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planningit can also be seen in a much larger context. May 4, 1916 april 25, 2006 was an americancanadian journalist, author, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Jan 25, 2020 the death and life of great american cities by jane jacobs was originally published in 1961. The death and life of great american cities ebook written by jane jacobs.
Jacobs covers a lot of material in the death and life of great american cities, but one of the successes of this book is how well it introduces the unique dynamics of cities to someone with my background and prejudices. While other cities most recently and egregiously detroit stagnate, shrink, and ultimately fail financially. The first three chapters of jane jacobss definitive book the death and life of great american cities are on sidewalks. The death and life of great american cities was described by the new york times as perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planningit can also be seen in a much larger context. Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of its initial publication, this special edition of jane jacobss masterpiece, the death and life of great american cities, features a new introduction by jason epstein, the books original editor, who provides an intimate perspective on jacobs herself and unique insights into the creation. Jane jacobs was the legendary author of the death and life of great american cities, a work that has never gone out of print and that has transformed the disciplines of urban planning and city architecture. Her most famous work, the death and life of great american cities, is. The death and life of great american cities modern library. The death and life of great american cities is a 1961 nonfiction book written by jane jacobs, an american canadian journalist, author, and activist with expertise in urban history and theory. Oct 14, 2011 those local campaigners were led by jane jacobs, another great greenwich village writer. After high school and a year spent as a reporter on the scranton tribune, jacobs went to new york, where she found a succession of jobs as a stenographer and wrote freelance articles about the citys many working districts, which fascinated her. It has not accomplished anything in eliminating slums or halting the decay of city neighborhoods. Jane jacobs classic work on the functioning of cities, though published in 1961, offers a fresh look at our cities and how we choose to live. The death and life of great american cities is a 1961 book by writer and activist jane jacobs.
A direct and fundamentally optimistic indictment of the shortsightedness and intellectual arrogance that has characterized much of urban planning in this century. What jane jacobs got wrong about cities the daily beast. In short, i shall be iting about how ciries work in real life, bttliluse this is the only way to learn whu principles of planning and what prac tices in rebuilding can promote social and economic vitality in cities, and what practices and principles will dc. The death and life of great american cities is a nononsense guide on how to make cities lively, vibrant, humane places to live and work. It was not the book i imagined it to be, robert moses here lurks mostly unmentioned darting behind some of the paragraphs, very rarely making an appearance in an actual sentence. The death and life of great american cities by jane jacobs. Jane jacobs, an editor and writer on architecture in new york city in the early sixties, argued that urban diversity and vitality were being destroyed by powerful architects and city planners. Had she lived in a city other than new york and written thirty years. Jane jacobs book the death and life of great american cities has been on my mental toread list since i read the power broker, which was long ago. First published in 1961, the book is a critique of modernist planning policies claimed by jacobs to be destroying many existing innercity communities.
Jul 20, 2016 jane jacobs was born on may 4, 1916, in scranton, pennsylvania. The death and life of great american cities cbc books. Her other major works include the economy of cities, systems of survival, the nature of economies and dark age ahead. The death and life of great american cities by jane jacobs 82 words 6 pages. Looking into how cities actually work, rather than how they should work according to urban designers and planners, jacobs effectively describes the real factors affecting cities, and recommends strategies to enhance actual city performance. Thirty years after its publication, the death and life of great american cities was described by the new york times as perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planningit can also be seen in a. The death and life of great american cities by jane jacobs and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. I approached the jane jacobs masterpiece with a bit of guilt since id never previously read it, even though id spent a career as a newspaper reporter covering urban planning issues and am now writing a history of chicago. The life and death of great american cities by jane jacob. Aug 25, 20 im way outside of my intellectual comfort zone when it comes to commenting on urban planning policy, but reading jane jacobs classic the death and life of great american cities this summer. Jane jacobs influential book on urban planning was released in 1961. Why do some american cities diversify, improve, innovate and grow. Her book the death and life of great american cities 1961 argued that urban renewal did not respect the needs of citydwellers. This guide refers to the original edition published by the vintage books division of random house.
Death and life of great american cities by jane jacobs. Nov 18, 2012 a half century after its publication in 1961, the death and life of great american cities is a complex document to read. Sep 21, 2016 the death and life of great american cities, jane jacobs impassioned defense of city life, is often cited as one of the most important nonfiction books of the 20th century. Im partly an easy target, since im intellectually inclined to like cities due to the advantages density has for efficiency. Jane jacobs was born on may 4, 1916, in scranton, pennsylvania. The death and life of great american cities book, 1961. Im way outside of my intellectual comfort zone when it comes to commenting on urban planning policy, but reading jane jacobs classic the death and life of great american. Buy a cheap copy of the death and life of great american. It shows mainly the life and death of american citis from the common peoples view and not from architectural one i hope that helped you.
The main characters of this non fiction, architecture story are. The death and life of great american cities, by jane jacobs, is a greatly influential book on the subject of urban planning in the 20th century. The death and life of great american cities by jane jacobs was originally published in 1961. Buy the death and life of great american cities by jane jacobs from waterstones today. The death and life of great american cities, jane jacobs impassioned defense of city life, is often cited as one of the most important nonfiction books of the 20th century. The death and life of great american cities has, since its first publication in 1961, become the standard against which all endeavors in that field are measured. The death and life of great american cities 50th anniversary edition modern library 50 anv edition jacobs, jane on. The death and life of great american cities by jane jacobs an apparently unread copy in perfect condition. Jane jacobs, urban activist, is dead at 89 the new york times. The death and life of great american cities by jane jacobs is concerned with the problems of city planning and the strategy that planners followed throughout most of the twentieth century. The death and life of great american cities summary at. Jacobs insights grow out of two factors which combine make this an outstanding book.
Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of its initial publication, this special edition of jane jacobss masterpiece, the death and life of great american cities, features a new introduction by jason epstein, the books original editor, who provides an intimate perspective on jacobs herself and unique insights into the creation and lasting influence of this classic. One of the most insightful and thought provoking books i have ever read. Jacobs book is an attack on orthodox modern city planning and city architectural design. The first edition of the novel was published in 1961, and was written by jane jacobs. In prose of outstanding immediacy, jane jacobs writes about what makes. The death and life of great american cities jane jacobs. Aug, 20 while other cities most recently and egregiously detroit stagnate, shrink, and ultimately fail financially. The strategy of rebuilding has not been successful. The death and life of great american cities by jacobs, jane. Recently i read a book titled the death and life of great american cities written by jane jacobs 1961, which basically criticizes the urban planning processes generally employed in the planning, renovation and rebuilding of. Jacobs s enormous achievement was to transcend her own withering critique of 20thcentury urban planning and propose. Jane jacobs, the writer who changed the face of the modern. The death and life of great american cities at 50 the. The death and life of great american cities by jane jacobs 4.
The death and life of great american cities was described by the new york times as perhaps the most influential single. All about the death and life of great american cities by jane jacobs. Her most famous work, the death and life of great american cities, is now 50 years old. The death and life of great american cities audiobook by. Oct 05, 2011 the first three chapters of jane jacobss definitive book the death and life of great american cities are on sidewalks.
The death and life of great american cities 50th anniversary edition modern library 50 anv edition. It was not the book i imagined it to be, robert moses here lurks mostly unmentioned darting behind some of the paragraphs, very. The book is jacobs bestknown and most influential work. Free download or read online the death and life of great american cities pdf epub book.
A half century after its publication in 1961, the death and life of great american cities is a complex document to read. When jacobs published her most important work, the death and life of great american cities, in 1961, americas cities were clearly in trouble. Those local campaigners were led by jane jacobs, another great greenwich village writer. Apr 25, 2006 in her book death and life of great american cities, written in 1961, ms.
Books by jane jacobs author of the death and life of great. The death and life of great american cities wikipedia. By the 1950s, various american cities were pursuing ambitious urban renewal policies, influenced by. If you are involved in government, architecture, or design, read this. The death and life of great american cities 50th anniversary edition by. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 472 pages and is available in hardcover format.