The author of “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” which transformed ideas about urban planning, has died at the age of 89 at a Toronto hospital, AP reports. She is survived by three children, James, Edward and Mary.
“She inspired a kind of quiet revolution,” her longtime editor, Jacob Epstein, said Tuesday. “Every time you see people rise up and oppose a developer, you think of Jane Jacobs.”
“Death and Life,” published in 1961, evolved from opposing the standards of the time to becoming a standard itself. It was taught in urban studies classes throughout North America and sold more than half a million copies. City planners in New York and Toronto were among those who cited its importance and her book became an essential text for “New Urban” communities such as Hercules, Calif., and Civano, Ariz. Jacobs also received a number of prizes, including a lifetime achievement award in 2000 from the National Building Foundation in Washington, D.C.