The Death and Life of Great American Cities

The Death and Life of Great American Cities is a direct and wonderfully optimistic indictment of the short-sightedness and intellectual arrogance that has characterized much of urban planning in this century, and has been a classic in the field since its first publication in 1961. Jane Jacobs writes, in a style that anyone can understand, about what makes streets safe (or unsafe); what makes a neighborhood -- and what function it serves within the larger organism of the city; and why some neighborhoods remain impoverished while others regenerate themselves.

She writes about the value of funeral parlors and tenement windows, the dangers of too much development money and too little diversity, and more. Compassionate, indignant, and keenly detailed, Jane Jacobs's monumental work provides an essential framework for assessing the vitality of all of our cities.