Zoo Station

No single human being influenced urban planning and, more generally, understood and defined cities more than Jane Jacobs did. A towering influence on the way people thought about and understood urban life, Jacobs was not your typical academic. In fact, she did not even have a university degree, never having completed her Columbia University education. Jane Jacobs died last night in Toronto at the age of 89. As the New York Times obituary put it, Jacobs will always be remembered as one of the legendary figures of the 60s who completely transformed the way we think, right up there with Ralph Nader, Rachel Carson etc. The NYT piece provides a great overview of Jane Jacobs' contributions to urban life, but if you want to read some more, I would strongly recommend The Economy of Cities and The Death and Life of Great American Cities.