Skip to Main Content (Press Enter) Toggle side nav

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

50th Anniversary Edition

50th Anniversary Edition

By Jane Jacobs

By Jane Jacobs

By Jane Jacobs

By Jane Jacobs

By Jane Jacobs

By Jane Jacobs

By Jane Jacobs
Read by Donna Rawlins
Introduction by Jason Epstein

By Jane Jacobs
Read by Donna Rawlins
Introduction by Jason Epstein

Best Seller

Category: Nonfiction

Category: Classics

Category: Domestic Politics

Category: Audiobooks

Paperback $17.95

Dec 01, 1992 | ISBN 9780679741954

Hardcover $24.00

Sep 13, 2011 | ISBN 9780679644330

Ebook $6.99

Jul 20, 2016 | ISBN 9780525432852

Audiobook Download $27.50

Sep 13, 2011 | 1080 Minutes

All Formats
+
    The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
    Hardcover $24.00
    Sep 13, 2011 | ISBN 9780679644330

    Also available from:

    See All Formats (3) +

    Paperback
    +

    • Paperback $17.95

      Dec 01, 1992 | ISBN 9780679741954

      Also available from:

    Hardcover
    –

    • Hardcover $24.00

      Sep 13, 2011 | ISBN 9780679644330

      Also available from:

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook

      Jul 20, 2016 | ISBN 9780525432852

      Available from:

    Audio
    +

    Buy the Audiobook Download:

    About The Death and Life of Great American Cities

    A direct and fundamentally optimistic indictment of the short-sightedness and intellectual arrogance that has characterized much of urban planning in this century, The Death and Life of Great American Cities has, since its first publication in 1961, become the standard against which all endeavors in that field are measured. In prose of outstanding immediacy, Jane Jacobs writes about what makes streets safe or unsafe; about what constitutes a neighborhood, and what function it serves within the larger organism of the city; about why some neighborhoods remain impoverished while others regenerate themselves. She writes about the salutary role of funeral parlors and tenement windows, the dangers of too much development money and too little diversity. Compassionate, bracingly indignant, and always keenly detailed, Jane Jacobs’s monumental work provides an essential framework for assessing the vitality of all cities.

    About The Death and Life of Great American Cities

    Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of its initial publication, this special edition of Jane Jacobs’s masterpiece, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, features a new Introduction by Jason Epstein, the book’s original editor, who provides an intimate perspective on Jacobs herself and unique insights into the creation and lasting influence of this classic.

    The Death and Life of Great American Cities was described by The New York Times as “perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planning. . . . [It] can also be seen in a much larger context. It is first of all a work of literature; the descriptions of street life as a kind of ballet and the bitingly satiric account of traditional planning theory can still be read for pleasure even by those who long ago absorbed and appropriated the book’s arguments.” Jane Jacobs, an editor and writer on architecture in New York City in the early sixties, argued that urban diversity and vitality were being destroyed by powerful architects and city planners. Rigorous, sane, and delightfully epigrammatic, Jane Jacobs’s tour de force is a blueprint for the humanistic management of cities. It remains sensible, knowledgeable, readable, and indispensable.

    About The Death and Life of Great American Cities

    Thirty years after its publication, The Death and Life of Great American Cities was described by The New York Times as "perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planning….[It] can also be seen in a much larger context.  It is first of all a work of literature; the descriptions of street life as a kind of ballet and the bitingly satiric account of traditional planning theory can still be read for pleasure even by those who long ago absorbed and appropriated the book’s arguments."  Jane Jacobs, an editor and writer on architecture in New York City in the early sixties, argued that urban diversity and vitality were being destroyed by powerful architects and city planners.  Rigorous, sane, and delightfully epigrammatic, Jacobs’s small masterpiece is a blueprint for the humanistic management of cities.  It is sensible, knowledgeable, readable, indispensable.  The author has written a new foreword for this Modern Library edition.

    About The Death and Life of Great American Cities

    Thirty years after its publication, The Death and Life of Great American Cities was described by The New York Times as "perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planning….[It] can also be seen in a much larger context.  It is first of all a work of literature; the descriptions of street life as a kind of ballet and the bitingly satiric account of traditional planning theory can still be read for pleasure even by those who long ago absorbed and appropriated the book’s arguments."  Jane Jacobs, an editor and writer on architecture in New York City in the early sixties, argued that urban diversity and vitality were being destroyed by powerful architects and city planners.  Rigorous, sane, and delightfully epigrammatic, Jacobs’s small masterpiece is a blueprint for the humanistic management of cities.  It is sensible, knowledgeable, readable, indispensable.  The author has written a new foreword for this Modern Library edition.

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Also by Jane Jacobs

    The Question of Separatism
    Vital Little Plans
    Dark Age Ahead
    The Nature of Economies
    Systems of Survival
    See all books by Jane Jacobs

    Also by Jane Jacobs

    The Question of Separatism
    Vital Little Plans
    Dark Age Ahead
    The Nature of Economies
    Systems of Survival
    See all books by Jane Jacobs

    Also by Jane Jacobs

    The Question of Separatism
    Vital Little Plans
    Dark Age Ahead
    The Nature of Economies
    Systems of Survival
    See all books by Jane Jacobs

    Also by Jane Jacobs

    The Question of Separatism
    Vital Little Plans
    Dark Age Ahead
    The Nature of Economies
    Systems of Survival
    See all books by Jane Jacobs

    About Jane Jacobs

    Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) was a writer who for more than forty years championed innovative, community-based approaches to urban planning. Her 1961 treatise The Death and Life of Great American Cities became perhaps the most influential text about the inner workings and failings of… More about Jane Jacobs

    About Jane Jacobs

    Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) was a writer who for more than forty years championed innovative, community-based approaches to urban planning. Her 1961 treatise The Death and Life of Great American Cities became perhaps the most influential text about the inner workings and failings of… More about Jane Jacobs

    About Jane Jacobs

    Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) was a writer who for more than forty years championed innovative, community-based approaches to urban planning. Her 1961 treatise The Death and Life of Great American Cities became perhaps the most influential text about the inner workings and failings of… More about Jane Jacobs

    About Jane Jacobs

    Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) was a writer who for more than forty years championed innovative, community-based approaches to urban planning. Her 1961 treatise The Death and Life of Great American Cities became perhaps the most influential text about the inner workings and failings of… More about Jane Jacobs

    Product Details

    Category: Nonfiction

    Paperback | $17.95
    Published by Vintage
    Dec 01, 1992 | 480 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780679741954

    Category: Classics

    Hardcover | $24.00
    Published by Modern Library
    Sep 13, 2011 | 640 Pages | 4-11/16 x 7-1/4 | ISBN 9780679644330

    Category: Domestic Politics

    Ebook | $6.99
    Published by Vintage
    Jul 20, 2016 | 480 Pages | ISBN 9780525432852

    Category: Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $27.50
    Published by Random House Audio
    Sep 13, 2011 | 1080 Minutes | ISBN 9780307969651

    Inspired by Your Browsing History

    Buy other books like The Death and Life of Great American Cities

    ‹ ›
    In the Heights
    In the Heights
    Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes and Jeremy McCarter
    Fierce Poise
    Fierce Poise
    Alexander Nemerov
    Glitch Feminism
    Glitch Feminism
    Legacy Russell
    The Ghost Map
    The Ghost Map
    Steven Johnson
    Callings
    Callings
    Dave Isay
    At Home
    At Home
    Bill Bryson
    The Secret History of Wonder Woman
    The Secret History of Wonder Woman
    Jill Lepore
    Having and Being Had
    Having and Being Had
    Eula Biss
    Let Me Tell You What I Mean
    Let Me Tell You What I Mean
    Joan Didion
    The Black Book
    The Black Book
    A Sand County Almanac
    A Sand County Almanac
    Aldo Leopold
    Van Gogh
    Van Gogh
    Gregory White Smith and Steven Naifeh
    The Invention of Nature
    The Invention of Nature
    Andrea Wulf
    Wanderlust
    Wanderlust
    Rebecca Solnit
    A Queer History of the United States
    A Queer History of the United States
    Michael Bronski
    White Girls
    White Girls
    Hilton Als
    Figuring
    Figuring
    Maria Popova
    Collapse
    Collapse
    Jared Diamond
    Amazing Grace
    Amazing Grace
    Jonathan Kozol
    Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes
    Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes
    Daniel L. Everett
    In Other Words
    In Other Words
    Jhumpa Lahiri
    Feminist City
    Feminist City
    Leslie Kern
    Coco Chanel
    Coco Chanel
    Lisa Chaney
    The Glorious American Essay
    The Glorious American Essay
    Phillip Lopate
    Remarkable Diaries
    Remarkable Diaries
    DK
    Flapper
    Flapper
    Joshua Zeitz
    Reclaiming Our Space
    Reclaiming Our Space
    Feminista Jones
    Broad Band
    Broad Band
    Claire L. Evans
    Writing Better Lyrics
    Writing Better Lyrics
    Pat Pattison
    Personal Writings
    Personal Writings
    Albert Camus
    Francis Bacon
    Francis Bacon
    Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan
    Upstream
    Upstream
    Mary Oliver

    Praise

    “Refreshing, provocative, stimulating and exciting . . . It fairly crackles with bright honesty and common sense.”—The New York Times
     
    “One of the most remarkable books ever written about the city . . . a primary work. The research apparatus is not pretentious—it is the eye and the heart—but it has given us a magnificent study of what gives life and spirit to the city.”—William H. Whyte, author of City: Rediscovering the Center

    Awards

    Sidney Hillman Prize WINNER 1961

    Looking for More Great Reads?
    21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
    Get the latest updates from Jane Jacobs
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    By clicking SIGN UP, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
    Dismiss
    Thanks!
    Something awesome is on its way.
    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read
    Today's Top Books

    Today's Top Books

    Want to know what people are actually reading right now?
    An online magazine for today’s home cook

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook