Evening star., 1961-11-05
Cities
s-s%
-
o"d People
jane Jacobs
BIockbuster
By ROBERT ]. LEWIS

city only to work, or to look
up statistics about cities in
public libraries. What these
people don't know about
cities would fill a book-and
often does.
An outstanding exception
is Jane Jacobs. She lives in a
city and has no desire to
move out. She's a working
girl, married to an architect.
and has two sons and a
daughter.
In a busy life, Mrs. Jacobs
has made some discoveries
about cities, put them down
on paper, and last Thursday
they were published in a 45S-
page book. It's called THE
Death and Life of American
Cities" Random House;
$3.50.
This book is a super-block-
buster, in more ways than
one, that should be read by
everyone at all concerned
with the life we lead.
WE FIRST HEARD about
this book couple of months
ago in a chance conversation
with Miss Colette Flynn. She
Is secretary to a brilliant
young chap named Jason Ep-
stein, who is one of Bennett
Cerf'S right-hand men at
Random House.
We talked to her after
someone told us this pub
Usher was going to reissue a
long-out-of-print book-the
best thing, incidentally, we
have ever read on the sub
ject of what makes cities
pleasant to live in. It's called
THE Art of Building Cities. {"
The author was Camille Site,
a Viennese, and it was first
translated into English by
Charles T. Stewart of Wash
ington.
Miss Flynn said they did
have a reissue in the works,
besides some other books on
cities-among them a hum
dinger by Jane Jacobs.
MISS FLYNN was right.
Mrs. Jacobs has a point of
view that comes from a love
of cities, a sharp perception
of what makes them tick, and
some very clear ideas about
what to do-and not to do
about them.
Her conclusions constitute
a severe indictment of some
of the trends in urban re-
newal and redevelopment -
and this has not endeared
her to less-open-m minded pro-
fessional planners and re-
developers.
Mrs. Jacobs is not namby-
pamby, but fortnight and
direct.
This book is an attack on
current city planning and re-
building" she says in her
opening sentence.
OUR OWN BELIEF is that
planners and urban renewal
officials should welcome this
book, for it adds to the slow
ly developing knowledge we
have about cities.
At this stage, there's much
to be gained by well-informed
plain-spoken criticism - and
Mrs. Jacobs pulls no punches.
She says:
Look what we have built
with the first several billions:
"Low-income projects that
become worse centers of ju-
venile delinquency, vandalism
and general social hopeless
ness than the slums they
were supposed to replace.
"Middle-i n come housing
projects which are truly mar.
vels of dullness and regimen
tation, sealed against any
buoyancy or vitality of city
life.
Luxury housing projects
that mitigate their inanity
or try to, with a vapid vul.
garity.
Cultural centers that are
unable to support a gooc
bookstore.
"Civic centers that are
avoided by everyone bu
buns, who have fewer choice
of a lettering place thar
others.
Commercial centers tina
are lack-luster limitations o
standardized suburban chain
store shopping.
"PromenadeS that go from
no place to nowhere, ant
have no promenaders.
"Expressways that eviscer
ate great cities.
This is not the rebuilding
Of cities. This is the sackinl
of cities"
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