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The Death and Life of Great American Cities Paperback – December 1, 1992

4.6 out of 5 stars 1,601 ratings

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Compassionate, bracingly indignant, and keenly detailed, a monumental work that provides an essential framework for assessing the vitality of all cities.

"The most refreshing, provacative, stimulating and exciting study of this [great problem] which I have seen. It fairly crackles with bright honesty and common sense." —The New York Times

A direct and fundamentally optimistic indictment of the short-sightedness and intellectual arrogance that has characterized much of urban planning in this century,
The Death and Life of Great American Cities has, since its first publication in 1961, become the standard against which all endeavors in that field are measured.

In prose of outstanding immediacy, Jane Jacobs writes about what makes streets safe or unsafe; about what constitutes a neighborhood, and what function it serves within the larger organism of the city; about why some neighborhoods remain impoverished while others regenerate themselves. She writes about the salutary role of funeral parlors and tenement windows, the dangers of too much development money and too little diversity. 

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The most refreshing, provacative, stimulating and exciting study of this [great problem] which I have seen. It fairly crackles with bright honesty and common sense." —The New York Times

"Magnificent ... Describes with brilliant specificity what works and what doesn't in cities, in language that is fearless and crisp as a trumpet blast." —Rebecca Solnit

"Perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planning... Jacobs has a powerful sense of narrative, a lively wit, a talent for surprise and the ability to touch the emotions as well as the mind"
—The New York Times Book Review

"One of the most remarkable books ever written about the city ... a
primary work. The research apparatus is not pretentious—it is the eye and the heart—but it has given us a magnificent study of what gives life and spirit to the city." —William H. Whyte, author of The Organization Man

From the Inside Flap

A classic since its publication in 1961, this book is the defintive statement on American cities: what makes them safe, how they function, and why all too many official attempts at saving them have failed.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 1, 1992
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Reissue
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 458 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 067974195X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679741954
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.17 x 0.95 x 7.97 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 1,601 ratings

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Jane Jacobs
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
1,601 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book exceptionally well thought out and consider it a must-read for city planners, appreciating its good looks and value for money. Moreover, the book remains relevant, with one customer noting it's as timely today as when it was written in 1961. Additionally, they value its diversity, with one review highlighting how it helps appreciate the value of diverse networks of interest and engagement. However, the writing quality receives mixed reactions, with one customer noting it's filled with odd typos.

119 customers mention "Readability"113 positive6 negative

Customers find the book exceptionally well thought out and consider it a must-read for city planners.

"...makes vibrant neighborhoods is just interesting stuff going on, easy to get around, changes of scenery everywhere, with diverse kinds of business..." Read more

"...who are attached to that place, can make it into a thriving, interesting neighborhood. Just like (or even better than) the one I described just now...." Read more

"...Her words, her thinking and writing are all contemporary, as even the older issues she discusses are now being deconstructed and it is interesting..." Read more

"...And that contributes to the empirical, incremental nature of her thought, as opposed to "ivory tower" urbanists, who planned cities from clerk desks..." Read more

14 customers mention "Look"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book visually appealing, with one customer noting its beautiful gold-colored cover.

"...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...." Read more

"...American Cities is a no-nonsense guide on how to make cities lively, vibrant, humane places to live and work...." Read more

"...It is well worth the money and by far the most beautiful hardcover book I've ever purchased for the price...." Read more

"A nice, civilian look at urban life, specifically on the city sidewalk. Jacobs is informed, but not expert, and her writing reflects this...." Read more

11 customers mention "Value for money"8 positive3 negative

Customers find the book worth the buy and relatively cheap, with one customer noting it's a great edition for urban economics.

"...EVERYBODY should buy the hardcover edition. It is well worth the money and by far the most beautiful hardcover book I've ever purchased for the..." Read more

"...Get the nicely bound Modern Library version. It's relatively cheap and feels good. I'll end with a question. Why did she move to Toronto?" Read more

"...Not a thoughtful examination of the topic. A waste of money." Read more

"...Her writing is a little repetitive but well worth the read. I recommend this if you are an Urban studies / Political Science major or minor." Read more

9 customers mention "Relevance"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book relevant, with one noting its fascinating content and another highlighting its groundbreaking nature.

"...she discusses are now being deconstructed and it is interesting to read the origins of many of these ideas which seem like such obvious blunders you..." Read more

"...50 years later, this book is still relevant...." Read more

"...Even today, her ideas are extraordinary and ground breaking...." Read more

"...The book may be dated, but contains a relevant and concrete critique of urban development and sprawl that are still applicable today." Read more

5 customers mention "Book value"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book indispensable, with one mentioning it's a must-have for their library and another noting it's good to have at the bedside.

"...that could get tedious if read straight through, it's a good book to have at the bedside to read in chunks." Read more

"...the opinion of the overwhelming majority of readers that it is an important book...." Read more

"Phenomenal read for planners! Must have for your library, so well written and entertaining even for today." Read more

"Another of the few indispensable books for any uni student studying Urban Design or Urban Planning on BA or Masters courses." Read more

5 customers mention "Diversity"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's focus on diversity, with reviews highlighting its value in understanding different types of business and activity, as well as its emphasis on community networks and mutual support.

"...to get around, changes of scenery everywhere, with diverse kinds of business and activity through the day...." Read more

"...where we walk, where kids play, where people congregate and look out for one another—whether they know they are doing it or not...." Read more

"...and cities for a long time with intelligence and with an equal gift in communicating...." Read more

"...This book helped me appreciate the value of diversity (building types and age, usage, etc.) in cities...." Read more

6 customers mention "Age of book"3 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's age, with some noting it was written over 60 years ago, while one customer mentions it remains as relevant today as when it was first published in 1961.

"...This book was written over 60 years ago, at a time when American planners were mostly engaged in work that is very much contrary to the notions of..." Read more

"This book is old, outdated, and written in a very snide, judgmental tone of voice...." Read more

"As timely today as when written in 1961. A must read for city planners!" Read more

"...Though the book is older, the themes and ideas stand the test of time." Read more

4 customers mention "Writing quality"0 positive4 negative

Customers criticize the writing style of the book, with one noting it is very snide, while another mentions it is filled with odd typos.

"I think Jane Jacobs is brilliant and thoughtful. Her writing is a little repetitive but well worth the read...." Read more

"Almost every page has pen notation and writing. I would not have purchased this book, had I known...." Read more

"This book is old, outdated, and written in a very snide, judgmental tone of voice...." Read more

"...This edition by the Modern library, however, is filled with odd typos...." Read more

Fascinating, robust and meticulous
5 out of 5 stars
Fascinating, robust and meticulous
"The point of cities is multiplicity of choice" First of all, I'll repeat here with my own words a disclaimer that the author offers in the book: this work is about cities in America (think NYC, Atlanta, or St. Louis) and its arguments are not applicable or intended for towns and smaller communities. Even though I'm no expert in urbanism, sociology or architecture I was left with the impression that this book must be a classic and an absolute gem on these subjects. This is a meticulous book. The author definitely had spent an enormous amount of time observing cities and people in cities before writing this book. And that contributes to the empirical, incremental nature of her thought, as opposed to "ivory tower" urbanists, who planned cities from clerk desks and college rooms (something that ran wild in post-WW2 America). One of the main themes of Mrs. Jacobs is the necessity to create conditions for diversity in cities, everything else being hugely impacted by this single factor. You want to have neighborhoods that have a mix of people from different backgrounds and occupations (this guarantees, for example, that streets don't all go empty at 6 o'clock, et cetera). Diversity also impacts the economic health of a place, and attracts residents and visitors to interact in a more complete way. The book mentions countless things that, to the uninitiated, may appear at first simple, such as preferring smaller vs larger blocks, as the former are inherently more attractive to pedestrians and therefore more conducive to business activity and safety. There's a lot of criticism for the planners of housing projects that focused on sterile "green" spaces as if a park magically makes communities more livable while ignoring much more important aspects such as access to business activities, walkability and safety. These planners the author changes with the fault of planning, in the abstract, poorly thought places that real people live in reality. There's also much criticism about the many ways in which city planning, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not, promoted racial discrimination in America. Remarkably little of the book is dedicated to the critique of cars (it is there, but much less than I expected). This book was written over 60 years ago, at a time when American planners were mostly engaged in work that is very much contrary to the notions of this book and time, in my opinion, has validated her ideas and made them more relevant than ever. This is a tremendous work, full of provocative humor and from a truly independent thinker who wrote about cities in a humanistic way.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2024
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I've been looking forward to reading this for a long time, and it still far exceeded my expectations.

    I have spent some time thinking about Christopher Alexander's books, which provide a kaleidoscope of "patterns"; vision-fragments of what makes a house or neighborhood have "life". It's not recipes, so much as a collection of tasteful flavor combinations that are also nutritious. It remains a mysterious art for architects to feel their way through these combinations, really through the underlying principles, to put together projects that nourish life for the people and communities that inhabit them. Clearly, it's an art, because you see projects that outwardly have similar design elements, yet some of them sing while others fall flat.

    But, before Christopher Alexander, there was Jane Jacobs. Her narrative starting point is an engagingly passionate diatribe against "grand" city planning schemes that are rooted in early industrial-era aesthetics of the smoothly-running machine. Jacobs makes a convincing case that these design principles for the organization of cities tend actually to produce disastrous stagnation, which is then continuously "solved" in ways that exacerbate, or simply relocate, the very destruction they propose to ameliorate. That's the definition of irony.

    It seems that many of these systems problems remain pervasive, and I think she would say destructively ill-conceived, "today". She wrote this book in 1960, but it still feels timely. One can see how systems and principles put in place in the domains of finance, management, and aesthetics have failed to produce their predicted results. She argues further that to remain dedicated to those principles seems to require taking the view that it is just capricious human nature that keeps causing people to fail to realize the benefits of these beautiful designs.

    To the degree that city planning has gotten a clue since the time of Jacobs' writing, I suspect that a big part of the clue comes from Jacobs herself. To understand that, you need to read this book, to get the insights that have driven those changes.

    Like Christopher Alexander on individual structures and small communities, Jacobs teaches against the idea that there is a single template for a successful organization of a city. Yet she nevertheless bravely finds a true science in this study, which she likens to domains of scientific inquiry that remain cutting-edge today. I think any reader must be continuously amazed at her prescience, and vision, and her humanity.

    The central idea in this work is pretty simple: the best thing about cities is that they foster fascinating, intense, diverse networks of interest and engagement. What makes vibrant neighborhoods is just interesting stuff going on, easy to get around, changes of scenery everywhere, with diverse kinds of business and activity through the day.

    While I have taken on her basic thesis for ongoing thinking, I am also wrestling with a question about the degree to which she underestimates the "friction" of corruption, greed, fear of the other, and so forth. In an "unslumming" city neighborhood, where what is most needed is "gradual money" that can foster small businesses, maybe cut a few streets through long blocks to increase diverse flow -- in that neighborhood, how easy is it for the powerful to show up with arguments about "clearing blight" and "creating new business" in order to perpetuate fat contracts and massive building that ends up stifling the small-scale activity that was just beginning to take root? The best answer is that it's a lot harder with this book out there in peoples' minds, giving them new ideas about how to protect and grow the thing that is making their neighborhood beautiful in the first place.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2017
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    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 part of the city that’s all “about culture” and another part that’s all “about business” and yet a third that’s “all about” housing. We don’t live our lives like that and we should not expect our city to live if every aspect of human life is segregated from every other aspect.

    It’s fine—no, it’s healthy—if people live next to a culture center, next to a place of worship, next to a place of business, and next to a park and playground. It means that at all times of the day, every day of the week, you will see different and interesting people on your streets. Sundays, you will see families dressed for church (and teenagers dressed “specially” for church); during the day on weekdays, you will see people in their business attire hurrying to and fro with their important tasks; at lunchtime you will see mothers (and these days increasingly fathers) pushing their baby strollers in the park and at night everyone gathers at the local watering holes and restaurants. If that is what you see where you live, you live in a safe and good neighborhood. A neighborhood where buildings are different not just because they have different paint but because they serve different functions. And that neighborhood is great for business. A baker, a coffee shop, a pub, a bar, a shoe repair shop—all will flourish in a neighborhood like this.

    The way to destroy a city, on the other hand, is to destroy a neighborhood by transplanting it into a project. It doesn’t matter how poor that neighborhood is. There are people who live in that place who are genuinely attached to it. A famous story is told (not in this book but as an example) of the Mother of all the Rothschilds not wishing to leave the Jewish Ghetto in Vienna. That is where her friends were and that is where she wanted to live. And no matter how poor a place seems to an outsider, people do put down roots there. And those roots mean that they, the people who are attached to that place, can make it into a thriving, interesting neighborhood. Just like (or even better than) the one I described just now. All they need is a little help: loans from banks to start a business, short blocks, encouraging the kinds of uses the people want. If there is one thing Jane Jacobs is adamant about it’s that a city is about the people who live in it and so you can’t impose a great idea on them-no matter who they are—it has to come from within the community. Because only then will you have a community. And given half a chance, that community will grow and will prosper.

    All that, and more, is in this relatively slim (for an urban planning book) volume. A volume that has been (rightly I think) been called a classic. Not just because of its message which is just as relevant today as it was when Jane Jacobs wrote it but because of the writing style. Jane Jacobs is obviously well-read and well-traveled but she does not feel the need t showcase that she read a book or two once. She writes in simple, easy-to-read prose and the lessons she teaches the reader are all the more memorable for that.

    I highly recommend it.
    81 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Paolo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
    Reviewed in France on December 31, 2012
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I baught this book as gift to my girlfriend and she was very surpirsed of the quality. This book is a must read !!!
  • Balasubramaniyan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book.
    Reviewed in India on December 4, 2016
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Great book.. must read for every urban designers.. not much relevant to current scenario but still a great piece of writing..
  • A ELSDEN
    5.0 out of 5 stars Jane Jacobs classic
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2025
    This book is dated but the elements of thinking about cities, human activity and organization are still valid today. Easy reading of reasoned arguments.
  • Alaska Bouvet
    5.0 out of 5 stars Should read if you interested in city planning
    Reviewed in Sweden on March 11, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Just a classic!
  • Andre' Bonfanti
    5.0 out of 5 stars Sorpresa
    Reviewed in Italy on August 20, 2014
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Ho ordinato il libro pensando che la copertina fosse in colore arancio come nella foto. Ma è arrivata in un elegante color bianco caldo/panna chiaro con le lettere argentee. La consegna è avvenuta alla mattina, ma non c'ero. Il corriere è tornato nel pomeriggio dello stesso giorno... perfetto.
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