JACOBS, Jane

Born 4 May 1916, Scranton, Pennsylvania

Daughter of John and Bess Robinson Butzner; married Robert H. Jacobs, Jr., 1944; children: two sons and one daughter

After graduating from high school, Jane Jacobs worked on the Scranton Tribune, where she exhibited a special interest in the problems of working-class districts. As a freelance writer in New York City, she continued her study of the problems of urban centers. In interviews, Jacobs has often stated that her husband, an architect, has been a major influence upon her work. They have two sons and a daughter.

In 1952 Jacobs joined the staff of Architectural Forum as associate editor and specialized in analyzing the problems of cities such as Washington, Baltimore, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Jacobs contributed to Columbia University Forum, the Reporter, and Harper's. She also contributed to the new approach towards the study of city life in The Exploding Metropolis (1958). Jacobs's essay entitled "Downtown Is for People" foreshadowed her future works in the study of urban affairs.

In her first book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), Jacobs sought to overturn the more conventional attitudes of urban planners and regional developers in the interest of preserving the vitality of cities, which she believes makes them both interesting and safe for their inhabitants. Jacobs's fresh approach to the subject brings into focus the uses of parks, sidewalks, and diversity on city streets. She stresses the importance of mixing residential and commercial needs in the same area and decries the urban planner's desire to change the character of urban communities by "cleaning them up," instead of rehabilitating old buildings. Jacobs correctly assesses the result of demolition of old buildings followed by the construction of massive housing projects as a loss of goods and services which undermines both the comforts and commerce of the city. Jacobs perceives both vandalism and decreased domestic spirit as a direct offshoot from the "blank walls" of the projects.

The problems at the heart of American cities are the lack of interest and understanding on the part of the theorists who control the future of the cities. Jacobs objects to the contemporary situation of urban planning, where actual programs derive their conceptual foundation from utopian cities, not found "in the streets" of the real world.

Jacobs's work is subjective, but although it avoids the stereotypical urbanologist jargon, it remains painfully aloof. It seems to some readers that Jacobs is trying to impose her own upper class values on the cities. Ultimately, her contribution to the contemporary field of urban studies remains imaginative, but represents no great progress over the work of her predecessors. Her portrayal of what she believes is the "real life" of cities appears sensationalist when juxtaposed against scholarly works; it is artificial and indeed almost a work of fiction when compared to other "real life" perceptions of the city.

In The Economy of Cities (1969), Jacobs modifies her tone to present a historical account of the growth of cities. She maintains that cities are not a mere outgrowth of an expanded rural economy, but were nourished on manufacturing and trade, which brought further growth to agricultural communities. Industrial growth is reliant upon innovation and a variety of types of work within a geographic area. Jacobs attempts to reverse the traditional approach to the study of urban areas by setting forth her belief that industry originated not in the household crafts, but in the cities, and then spread to the countryside. She uses the example of electrical power, which is sent to the city from the rural areas, but was first used in the city.

As in the case of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jacobs portrays a far nicer fantasy than the utopian "City Beautiful" of other urbanologists, yet there is insufficient evidence for her claims that cities are diverse and original for the reasons she sets forth. As one critic has written, her analysis of urban growth is limited by its admiration for the innovative entrepreneur and its inattention to the role of corporations and government. Jacobs's work accurately describes the "other half" of the current urban plight, which has been overlooked by experts, yet she has made little effort to provide a bridge between the two extremes of urban ideology. It is her courage in the face of overwhelming "superblocks" that has brought Jacobs recognition for her ideas. Her works have been characterized as "spunky and informative cautionary documents," and they remain, for this reason, invaluable to the student of the modern city.