Jane Jacobs: Urban Visionary

This biography of the most commonsensical person in the history of urban planning is quite revealing and illustrates for instance how Jane Jacobs was an independent mind from her very childhood. With no training or professional experience whatsoever in the field, she is famous for her fresh approach to urban realities. The book, however, hints that her husband, an architect, had an important role in the development of the insights included in her books, particularly `The Death and Life of Great American Cities'. The book also sheds considerable light on the central paradox in Jane Jacob's life: she fought for years to preserve Greenwich Village and its urbanity and, almost overnight, abandoned New York for (then) quite bland Toronto. One should be aware that this book does not present or discuss Jacob's ideas and would be of limited interest to anyone unfamiliar with them. In other words, her views were much more extraordinary than her life.

Excellent exploration of the impact of the ideas of a remarkable woman on city planning. A very readable book. Chosen by Planetzen, The Planning and Development Network as one of the ten best books of 2006.

I had heard of Jane Jacobs as one of the few people who dared to fight plans set up by the powerful Robert Moses (and she won!) My Canadian friends knew her from her life and work in Toronto. So, I was glad to see a biography finally written about her and bought the book hoping to learn more. I wasn't disappointed - this book starts with Jacobs' upbringing in Scranton, Pennsylvania and chronicles her life and work in Greenwich Village and then her move and continuing work as a writer and urban activist in Toronto, Canada. I was fascinated by the fact the Ms Jacobs did not look for fame - she was first off a writer who found her voice in writing about cities. The author calls her a `prose poet' and uses Jacobs' own words liberally throughout this book to show the readers the beauty and power of her words. She became involved in urban activism because her own neighborhood was threatened with destruction in the great `urban renewal' projects of the time. It seemed obvious to her that her street was not a slum - that her neighborhood worked as a place where children could play, businesses could prosper and people could band together to protect their homes. I also liked that the author places Jane Jacobs in her time. With NYC being so desirable now, we forget that it was in serious trouble in the late 1950-60's. One of the answers (backed by major government funding) was to clear the slums by bulldozing established neighborhoods. The automobile was 'king' and urban neighborhoods in the US and Canada were expendable if it meant easier access for drivers. It was also a time when Americans were realizing that their involvement in Vietnam was unjust and were taking to the streets to protest. Jane Jacobs became involved in these major events in very personal ways because they involved her personally. Her own home was in jeopardy (both in the US and Canada) and her sons were eligible to be drafted. She wasn't afraid to take on the powerful and because she did and was so effective, she became one of the important voices of her generation - both in New York City and in her adopted city of Toronto, Canada. All this information is in this book and if you are old enough to remember, it is interesting to see that time through a different perspective. Ms Jacobs didn't want her biography written but her story needed to be told and Alice Sparberg Alexiou has told it with great insight. She has done a tremendous job of research and has included writings and thoughts of many other urban planners and designers to help the readers understand the intricacies of cities. I feel that I received an education in city planning and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the workings of the cities and in the life of a remarkable woman who looked around and saw what needed to be done - and then she did it!

This light and lively account is a good place to begin learning about North America's most noteworthy social activist. Although denied direct access to Jacobs who was reluctant to participate, Alexiou turned to other sources effectively. She traces Jacob's career from her early life in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Jacobs had an early start in "activism" when she rebelled against a pompous teacher. Leaving school didn't mean a rejection of learning. As an autodidact, she took up information wherever it was available. Her best sources, as the author shows well, were people. Books and articles had their place, but is was as a "street person" that Jacobs demonstrated her real strengths. The author follows Jacobs in her difficult quest for employment in New York. She describes the chance encounter with a social reformer in Haarlem that prompted her interest in the impact of "urban renewal". Quickly recognising the value of neighbourhoods, Jacobs went on to thwart the designs of urban planners, both private and in government. Alexiou explains the amount of work entailed in Jacobs' efforts, both in New York and her later home, Toronto. The Toronto location had a strange dual impact on Jacobs, according to the author. Living in the age of "America, Love It or Leave It", Jacobs move diminshed her following in her homeland. In Canada, however, she quickly became a rising star. There, she continued her stiff resistence to "development" and was instrumental in the blocking of the Spadina Freeway project. It would have cut right through her home! Alexiou's book should provide secondary school teachers with a treasured resource. Classes in sociology and civics would do well to read this book in preparation for going on to Jacobs' own works. Even the less remembered books, such as that on Quebec separation still represent her voice. That voice should be kept alive and Alexiou's account will go far in doing that. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]