"The Death and Life of Great American Cities is a 1961 book by writer and activist Jane Jacobs. The book is a critique of 1950s urban planning policy, which it holds responsible for the decline of many city neighborhoods in the United States. Going against the modernist planning dogma of the era, it proposes a newfound appreciation for organic urban vibrancy in the United States. Reserving her most vitriolic criticism for the 'rationalist' planners (specifically Robert Moses) of the 1950s and 1960s, Jacobs argued that modernist urban planning rejects the city, because it rejects human beings living in a community characterized by layered complexity and seeming chaos. The modernist planners used deductive reasoning to find principles by which to plan cities. Among these policies she considered urban renewal the most violent, and separation of uses (i.e., residential, industrial, commercial) the most prevalent. These policies, she claimed, destroy communities and innovative economies by creating isolated, unnatural urban spaces. In their place Jacobs advocated 'four generators of diversity' that 'create effective economic pools of use': mixed primary uses, activating streets at different times of the day; short blocks, allowing high pedestrian permeability; buildings of various ages and states of repair; density. ..."
W - The Death and Life of Great American Cities
NY Times: Neighbors Are Needed (Nov. 5, 1961)
The Atlantic: The Prophecies of Jane Jacobs
Celebrating Jane Jacobs
An Illustrated Guide to Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs (1916-2006): Why Neo-Cons loved communitarian urbanist Jane Jacobs
Happy 100th, Jane! We’re still with you on the sidewalk
[PDF] The Death and Life of Great American Cities
amazon
YouTube: Remembering Jane Jacobs
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