Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, dies at age 89
Known for her writing, leadership, and fierce dedication to making cities better places, her work was/is an inspiration to those who care about preserving and improving the urban fabric in which they live. Following are a few reasons why we like her:
- She based most of her work on simple yet often overlooked observations of the world around her. She used this empirical knowledge to educate and unify communities, and facilitate change.
- She looked at cities and urban life holistically. She understood the city as a larger interconnected system (economic, political, ecological) AND at the social level of peoples’ everyday experience of it.
- She had a plan of action and she attempted to make the world a better place for the greater good.
- She believed in and valued ethics.
- And last but not least, she had a very clear writing style, accessible to most anyone. This helped disseminate her ideas to a larger portion of the population than an academic or theoretical writing text would have allowed.
While this post doesn’t connect to west Berkeley per se, it does relate to some of the subject matter, values, and intent of this blog. Click here for a recent article that summarized her life and work, or here for a wikipedia entry. Of course the best way to learn more would be to read some of her books! Click here for a list.