← Key Figures
Jane Jacobs
KEY FIGURESintermediate
Definition
American-Canadian activist and writer (1916–2006) whose book 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities' (1961) transformed thinking about urban design. Jacobs argued that vibrant cities require mixed use, short blocks, a mix of old and new buildings, and density — a direct challenge to postwar urban renewal and highway projects.
Example
Jacobs successfully campaigned to stop Robert Moses's Lower Manhattan Expressway from demolishing the SoHo and Greenwich Village neighbourhoods — one of the first major citizen victories over top-down urban planning.