Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was a writer and activist who championed new approaches to urban planning for more than forty years. Her 1961 treatise The Death and Life of Great American Cities became perhaps the most influential American txt about the inner workings and failings of cities, inspiring generations of urban planners and activists. Her efforts to stop the building of downtown expressways and protect local neighborhoods invigorated community-based urban activism and helped end Parks Commissioner Robert Moses' reign of power in New York City.