Jane Jacobs' "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" - A Groundbreaking Exploration of Urban Planning

Elham Khazanedar: The book had a big fold like the whole book was folded from the centre. was disappointed at first but it was not a big issue . I bought it cheaper than what was available in local retail. so generally I'm good with it.

United States on Sep 11, 2023

Jacqueline Rainers: My son is a college student and he loves this

United States on Aug 30, 2023

Alaska Bouvet: Just a classic!

Sweden on Mar 11, 2023

Bernhard Kockoth: Now that at least here in Europe we're working hard to get our cities back from the car cult of the post-war era, this book helps to understand many of the past wrongdoings. Nice to see how little (western) humanity has changed over the years, it would be interesting to see how the findings fit with the asian part of humanity.

Germany on Nov 30, 2021

Alexander Paul: Das Standardwerk für eine aufgeklärte Stadtplanung. Der Fokus liegt auf der amerikanischen Situation, aber viele Details sind auch auf übrige Regionen übertragbar. Wenn auch die Kritik an moderner Stadtplanung aus heutiger Sicht etwas überzogen scheint, so erstaunt die Aktualität der angesprochenen Probleme bis hin zur fehlerhaften Finanzierung von sozialem Wohnungsbau. Daher ist dieses Werk für alle Akteure im Städte- und Wohnungsbau auch heute noch ein absolutes Muss.

Germany on Dec 30, 2020

Phil in Buckden: I bought this book as someone with an amateur interest in town planning and architecture, following a documentary about the author, Jane Jacobs, on BBC4. Jane Jacobs successfully campaigned against uninspired city developments in North America during the mid 20th century. Her book sets out some rules and guidelines as to what constitutes a successful mix of factors required for a thriving city. Note that by City she means the large, North American metropolis of the 1950's and 60's so the examples she gives are not always understood by me (ie someone in the UK in the early 21st century), and her conclusions may not be wholly appropriate especially in this internet age (there's a lot about shops which of course have their own challenges in the digital age). She is damning of the Garden City movement which I thought was unfair given that Welwyn Garden City and the like in the UK - at least the original parts - seem to work and are still popular. I can only assume that she'd consider these towns not cities and is looking at a different beast Stateside.

The book makes some common sense points about the need for town planning being co-ordinated to enable people to breathe life...

United Kingdom on Oct 02, 2017

Inna Tysoe: She starts with the sidewalk. The sidewalk, after all, is where we live most of our lives if we live in a city. It’s where we walk, where kids play, where people congregate and look out for one another—whether they know they are doing it or not. She tells anecdotes—the one about the boy who was rescued by strangers on the sidewalk and the one about the boy trapped in an elevator in a project who cried and cried for hours but no-one came. The sidewalk, where people take responsibility for one another; where a community is formed; where we know our local grocer and that annoying lady next door is far safer than the projects where people—anonymous individuals—live cheek by jowl with their neighbors.

And from the point of view of the humble sidewalk, Jane Jacobs builds a kind of theory of cities: what works and what doesn’t. She makes points that, once she makes them, are nothing more nor less than common sense. She points out that we like interesting things and that what we, as people are most interested in, is other people. So we like to people-watching. And that means we need different, truly different, buildings on our sidewalks. It just doesn’t work to have a...

United States on Jun 03, 2017

Opinionholder: A wonderful book, rightly regarded as a classic, that will challenge your perceptions of out urban space and how we use it.Although it relates specifically to America, the ideas do transfer to a UK context. Jacobs' challenges many ideas that were gaining traction mid century- and makes claims that ring true yet still seem controversial. for example, she asks planners to guard against the idea of building dedicated play parks, and instead ensure the streets are wide enough to accommodate children's play. She's on to something- children are far safer playing in full view of their communities rather than in the fenced-in, isolated 'park' that is so common place both in private and publich housing developments. Highly recommended to all with an interest in community, architecture and sociology.

United Kingdom on Jun 21, 2016

Rebecca: Everyone has opinions about their city and the different neighborhoods. Some areas are vibrant and energy giving, while others are so dreary they knock the wind out of you. Often the reasons seem clear and you just wish you could find the nincompoops responsible and make them spend the rest of their lives living in their creation. But other times you know you don't like it but the reasons are a little more nebulous. Jane Jacobs is able to quickly and expertly delineate it all in this wonderful book. You will look at cities with a new expert eye.

This topic could be really tedious to read - but it's not! Within the first few pages I could tell I was in the hands of someone skilled and capable, a master at the nature of spaces and nimble with words and ideas. Jacobs was not a planner, nor an academic but a person who had been thinking and writing about architecture and cities for a long time with intelligence and with an equal gift in communicating. Her style is evocative and able to tease out subtle ideas in amusing, succinct and yet on-the-mark ways. She just nails it each time.

Published in 1961 but for the most part, reads current. Her words, her thinking and...

United States on Jul 07, 2015