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A review by bjaimes
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.5
After having heard so much about the brilliance of Jane Jacobs, I decided to finally give this book a shot! Jane Jacobs was truly a visionary thinker for her time, setting the groundwork for policies that we are still fighting to enact today. She was able to see through the facade of urban planning in her era and fight for more lively neighborhoods and less dependency on cars.
It should be noted, however, that many of the city idiosyncracies she describes are no longer possible at this stage in our capitalist development. The days when you could trust a local business to watch over the street are long gone. For various reasons, businesses nowadays maintain highly impersonal relationships with the rest of the community.
Also, despite her progressivism in urban policy, Jane was a pretty strong defender of U.S. capitalism. I find it sad that many of the issues she identifies as inefficiencies would actually be solved (or more efficient) under central planning.
The writing style is pretty accessible, and Jane lets her sense of humor shine through every once in a while. I will say that with the length of this book, some of the later chapters are not as riveting to get through... hence why it took me 3 months to get through this book lol.
It should be noted, however, that many of the city idiosyncracies she describes are no longer possible at this stage in our capitalist development. The days when you could trust a local business to watch over the street are long gone. For various reasons, businesses nowadays maintain highly impersonal relationships with the rest of the community.
Also, despite her progressivism in urban policy, Jane was a pretty strong defender of U.S. capitalism. I find it sad that many of the issues she identifies as inefficiencies would actually be solved (or more efficient) under central planning.
The writing style is pretty accessible, and Jane lets her sense of humor shine through every once in a while. I will say that with the length of this book, some of the later chapters are not as riveting to get through... hence why it took me 3 months to get through this book lol.