While I was distracted by my birthday I was sad to hear yesterday that author, activist, and thinker Jane Jacobs died yesterday in Toronto at the age of 89. Although her obituary in today’s Post is good, the New York Times piece is longer and does a better job explaining her life and ideas.
I think it’s difficult to exaggerate the impact of her 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Not only did her book have a profound impact on the professions of city planning and architecture, it also helped revolutionize the way Americans think about cities. Although many important critiques have been made of her books (which I’ll save for another time), I found her books highly stimulating and her ideas have found their way into my undergraduate honors thesis and on this blog.
> NY Times: “Jane Jacobs, Social Critic Who Redefined and Championed Cities, Is Dead at 89”
> My posts who mention her
> My posts on Obama
Public Participation in Urban Planning Month
- Introduction
- Part 1: Urban Planning and E-Government
- Part 2: A Brief History of Public Participation in Urban Planning
- Part 3: Participation Theory
- Part 4: The Internet as a Participation Tool
- Conclusions
- Sidebars: Government as Data Source, Software for e-Government, more
My ULI Posts
What I'm Reading
Latest Entries
- Report Finds Public Participation Improves Policy
- What Neighborhoods Will Be The Next Hot Spots?
- Examining the Redlands Dam
- Tolls More Equitable Than Sales Tax For Funding Freeways
- Shared Vans Already Here … and Illegal
- Green Gas?
- The Economics of Redevelopment
- District Bike Sharing Launches
- Subprime Mortgages and Race
- The Equity of Housing Tax Benefits
Apr 28th, 2006 at 9:35 am
wow, i never realized how much jane jacobs had influenced your writings on this site. i must make it a point to read some of her work.
happy belated b’day, buddy.
Apr 28th, 2006 at 9:38 am
oh and congrats on snagging the UMD program! i’m sure it’ll be blast for you.