Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of its initial publication, this special edition of Jane Jacobs’s masterpiece, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, features a new Introduction by Jason Epstein, the book’s original editor, who provides an intimate perspective on Jacobs herself and unique insights into the creation and lasting influence of this classic.
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 planning. . . . [It] can also be seen in a much larger context. It is first of all a work of literature; the descriptions of street life as a kind of ballet and the bitingly satiric account of traditional planning theory can still be read for pleasure even by those who long ago absorbed and appropriated the book’s arguments.” 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. Rigorous, sane, and delightfully epigrammatic, Jane Jacobs’s tour de force is a blueprint for the humanistic management of cities. It remains sensible, knowledgeable, readable, and indispensable.
Observations of a great mind
"A true classic, this book points to problems that still plague our cities today. It is eloquent, witty and scathing. Jacobs makes a dynamic analysis while so many lesser writers think in static terms. In other words, she considers the direct effects of an action and the effects of the effects. Yet, despite her being right for over 60 years, planners seem to be just starting to implement her ideas. _x000D_ Jacobs is also a true democrat and optimist: she believes the people who live in cities are or can be fully fledged citizens, consumers, employees, family members, neighbours and every other role in between. She opposes top-down, undemocratic interventions. She thinks that every little thread in the city tapestry matters, so we should be careful pulling on any of them. This book is filled with her wisdom. Savour it."
