The Death and Life of Great American Cities
by Jane Jacobs · first published 1961
70% recommend28% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Data-backed argument for why some neighborhoods thrive and others die, favoring mixed-use, mid-rise, short blocks over towers, sprawl and parking lots. Suits anyone curious about city planning.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The Death and Life of Great American Cities was described by The New York Times as “perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planning. . . . [It] can also be seen in a much larger context. It is first of all a work of literature; the descriptions of street life as a kind of ballet and the bitingly satiric account of traditional planning theory can still be read for pleasure even by those who long ago absorbed and appropriated the book’s arguments.” Jane Jacobs, an editor and writer on architecture in New York City in the early sixties, argued that urban diversity and vit
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…country and economy well, especially if you are trying to completely change it (i.e., "develop" it, solve poverty, etc.). It humbled me as a 22 year old "professional" wanting to fix the world. "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs is a close second to this theme of economic, technocratic development. EDIT: I notice 22 upvotes. WOW! If you are a fan of this book or curious to hear more, please comment. Happy to…
on “Ask HN: Which book can attract anyone towards your field of study?” ↗…about it. 2 of 19 the books in the list are by female authors (both recommended by women). Looking for some good books from women? Check out these: Nonfiction: * Radical Acceptance, Tara Brach * The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs * Freedom Is a Constant Struggle, Angela Davis * Rising Strong, Brené Brown * Cleopatra, Stacy Shiff * The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander Fiction: * Anything by Ursula Le Guin *…
on “Summer Reading List” ↗And Jane Jacobs spent a significant portion of her life proving his ideals at best short-sighted, and at worst out-right wrong. History remembers Jacobs far more fondly. Death and Life of Great American Cities is now town planning 101.
on “America's First Medal at the Nazi Olympics Was for Town Planning” ↗…streets, and mixed use development. If residents value their communities, they will take care of them physically, economically, and socially. This was explored a lot in a classic work by Jane Jacobs (The Death and Life of Great American Cities). It's still a relevant read and informs much of new urbanist thinking.
on “San Francisco votes overwhelmingly to recall progressive DA Chesa Boudin” ↗…pimped up motherboard or a city where people actually live? What if a sustainable and livable city doesn't look very exciting on picture? Jane Jacobs addresses this topic at length in Chapter 19 of The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Here are the first few paragraphs (the whole book is a worthwhile read if you have the chance): - When we deal with cities we are dealing with life at its most complex and intense. Because this is…
on “An Inconvenient Truth about Smart Cities” ↗…for $12 - about the cheapest I saw (lots on Amazon uk, starting at about 15 pounds) - from Powell's. If you found pg's cities essays interesting or clueless, read Jane Jacobs's trilogy on cities: The Death and Life of Great American Cities The Economy of Cities Cities and the Wealth of Nations The quality of the writing, and the thought, more than fully justify the hubris of the last title.
on “Ask YC (and PG): What books do you have on your bookshelf? ” ↗A much structured and detailed argument against parking lots is done by Jane Jacobs in her book "The Death and Life of Great American Cities." She shows data, not just a hand-picked (bad) example.
on “Parking Bombs: Destroying Downtowns for Cars” ↗Start with Jane Jacobs (google her, quite famous), then read her "The Death and Life of Great American Cities". It's helps you understand why cities work, why they don't, what makes a neighbourhood, what destroys them and how almost everything city planners and governments think matters, actually doesn't. After…
on “Apple Submits Updated Campus 2 Plans to Cupertino” ↗It's not. I'd recommend Jane Jacobs' "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" to anyone interested in a comprehensive picture of what it takes to make cities livable: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Life-Great-American-Cities/dp/0... Also read up on all the work Singapore is doing…
on “What If Urban Sprawl Is the Only Realistic Way to Create Affordable Cities?” ↗…when I'm looking at a book. I just have no idea (and perhaps no interest really, unless it's something I'm REALLY into). Anyway, it's cool that you're listing these. I'm particularly interested in The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs.
on “Summer Reading List” ↗>"Jane Jacobs addresses this topic at length in Chapter 19 of The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Here are the first few paragraphs (the whole book is a worthwhile read if you have the chance)" That's a seminal book in urban planning and policy. I was happy to see it mentioned in the discussion.…
on “An Inconvenient Truth about Smart Cities” ↗You might take a look at the OpenCourseware for the MIT Urban Studies and planning department: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/urban-studies-and-planning/ A classic is Jane Jacobs' The Death and Life of Great American Cities. There was a fairly recent documentary on her as well. This book is a bit of a Rorschach test though. People who rail against cars highlight her opposition to Robert Moses' highways. But opponents to…
on “Mountain View approves 10,000 homes by Google's North Bayshore project (2017)” ↗…analysis of the neoliberal postmodern condition, and how the cultural milieu has changed since the fall of the Soviet Union, and free-market capitalism became the only extant economic system in the world. * Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs - this probably needs no introduction; it was an extremely transformative treatise on urban form, vitality, diversity, and completely overturned the urban planning field when it was originally…
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗…unanimously, architects and engineers agree today that these are not the right paradigm to build a city. Great additional reads if you're curious: "Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander, and "The Death and Life of great american cities" by Jane Jacobs. [3]: https://99percentinvisible.org/article/ville-radieuse-le-cor...
on “Frank Gehry started off building cities with his grandma” ↗…single point of failure. Get to know your neighbors, organize with them, and do the work together to make your neighborhood better. Some reading never hurts, either. If you're in a city, I've found "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs to be really insightful.
on “Ask HN: As a person, what can I do to improve a city?” ↗