Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs (May 4, 1916 – April 25, 2006) was a Canadian and American journalist, author and activist. She changed urban studies. In her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jacobs described how urban renewal did not respect the needs of most city people.
Jane Jacobs | |
|---|---|
 Jane Jacobs as chairperson of a Greenwich Village civic group at a 1961 press conference. | |
| Born | Jane Butzner May 4, 1916 Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 25, 2006 (aged 89) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Cause of death | Stroke |
| Education | Graduated from Scranton High School; two years undergraduate studies at Columbia University |
| Occupation | Journalist, author, urban theorist |
| Employer | Amerika, Architectural Forum |
| Organization | Joint Committee to Stop the Lower Manhattan Expressway, Stop Spadina Save Our City Coordinating Committee |
Notable work | The Death and Life of Great American Cities |
| Spouse(s) | Robert Jacobs |
| Awards | OC, O.Ont, Vincent Scully Prize, National Building Museum |
Jacobs made local efforts with regular people to protect existing neighborhoods from "slum clearance". In 1968, she was arrested for inciting a crowd to stop the Lower Manhattan Expressway. In 1968, she moved to Toronto. In Toronto, she fought against building the Spadina Expressway (now Allen Road).
Mostly men work in urban planning and have power. Jacobs was a woman and a writer who criticized the ideas of male experts.[1][2] So, established planners often said bad things about her personally. She was often described first as a housewife,[3] because she did not have a college degree or any formal training in urban planning.[4][5] However, her ideas became more and more popular and respected. Professionals such as Richard Florida and Robert Lucas said her work was important.[6]
Jacobs got the second Vincent Scully prize from the National Building Museum in 2000.
Jacobs was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She died from a stroke in Toronto at age 89.[7]
Jane Jacobs Media
Cover of The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Jacobs fought to prevent Washington Square Park, pictured, from being demolished for a highway
Jacobs lived at 69 Albany Avenue (white porch) in Toronto's Annex for 35 years
Jacobs with Ecotrust foreman Spencer Beebe in Portland, Oregon, 2004
A "Jane's Walk" group pauses at Fort York National Historic Site in Toronto
References
- ↑ "Urban Planning Has a Sexism Problem". nextcity.org. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
- ↑ Gratz, Roberta Brandes. "Jane Jacobs and the Power of Women Planners". CityLab. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
- ↑ Laurence, Peter L. (21 January 2016). Becoming Jane Jacobs. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4788-6. OCLC 911518358.
- ↑ "Jane Jacobs". The Center for the Living City. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
- ↑ "The death and life of Jane Jacobs critiques". globalurbanist.com. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
- ↑ Why Creativity is the New Economy – Richard Florida, retrieved 2021-11-16
- ↑ Martin, Douglas (25 April 2006). "Jane Jacobs, Urban Activist, is Dead at 89". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/25/books/25cnd-jacobs.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
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