Becoming Jane Jacobs
The intellectual journey of a pioneering urbanist
Format:Paperback
Publisher:University of Pennsylvania Press
Published:15th Feb '19
Should be back in stock very soon
This biography explores the life of Jane Jacobs, emphasizing her intellectual journey and the professional background that informed her influential work, Becoming Jane Jacobs.
In Becoming Jane Jacobs, Peter L. Laurence presents an intellectual biography of the influential urbanist, revealing that her seminal work, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, was not merely the result of an amateur's sudden inspiration but rather the culmination of extensive knowledge and professional writing. Laurence emphasizes that Jacobs was deeply engaged with the complexities of urban renewal and the dynamics of American cities, providing a rich context for her ideas.
Jane Jacobs is widely acknowledged as a pivotal figure in American urbanism. Through her groundbreaking book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she exposed the intricate relationship between the physical and social aspects of urban life, critiquing the urban renewal policies of the 1950s. The narrative of Jacobs, often portrayed as a housewife who bravely opposed powerful figures like Robert Moses, is explored in depth, highlighting her keen observational skills and common sense as her greatest tools in advocating for her neighborhood.
Laurence argues that a thorough understanding of Jacobs's intellectual journey is necessary to appreciate her contributions fully. Despite having only a high school diploma, she was entrenched in a sophisticated intellectual milieu. Becoming Jane Jacobs chronicles her influences, development, and career, establishing a new perspective on her work and the evolution of her thoughts over decades. Laurence's insights reveal how Jacobs was shaped by the very traditions she critiqued, making her achievements even more remarkable.
"Excellent. . . . One of the best books of the year. This is the biography of Jacobs I have wanted to read for forty years."—Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
"Fascinating. . . . This scrupulously and minutely documented intellectual biography, based on extensive original archival research, set against a detailed history of urban policies adopted between the early Roosevelt and late Eisenhower administrations, reveals how the mind-set of the legendary author and activist was formed."—The Atlantic
"Architectural historian Peter Laurence aims to counter the notion that Jacobs was just a spunky naif who stumbled onto her theories about city planning and urban renewal. Instead, he argues, her views were shaped by years of careful study working as a writer and editor. . . . Becoming Jane Jacobs provides a crucial rebalancing of the public record."—Women's Review of Books
"Jane Jacobs taught the world to perceive the city with new eyes, but first she had to teach herself to see. In this superbly researched and wonderfully original book, Peter L. Laurence for the first time reveals the depth and complexity of Jacobs's self-education. As a writer, activist, and archetypal New Yorker, Jacobs put herself at the center of a debate on modernism that was also a profound struggle over the future of the American city. This book is both a worthy tribute to Jacobs's genius and a brilliant exposition of the broader context of designs and ideas that made her work possible."—Robert Fishman, University of Michigan
"Much has been written about Jane Jacobs over the years—from her audacious challenge to top-down urban planning approaches to her successes as a neighborhood activist in New York and later Toronto—but Peter Laurence is the first to account fully for the originality of her thinking and to provide a complex picture of her intellectual formation against the backdrop of urban America in the post-World War II decades. Deeply researched and richly illuminating, Laurence's book will fundamentally change the way we think about Jacobs today."—Joan Ockman, editor of Architecture Culture 1943-1968: A Documentary Anthology
"Peter Laurence peers behind Jane Jacobs's distinctive glasses to reveal a keen investigator, a synthesizing intellect, a poetic writer, and an unwavering conscience. Becoming Jane Jacobs adds immeasurably to our understanding of her rich, formative years in New York City, leading up to the publication of The Death and Life of Great American Cities."—Robert Wojtowicz, Old Dominion University
- Winner of Winner of the 2016 Jane Jacobs Urban Communication Book Award 2021
ISBN: 9780812224429
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
376 pages