The first biography of Jane Jacobs for young people, the visionary
activist, urbanist, and thinker who transformed the way we inhabit
and develop our cities.
Jane
Jacobs was born more than a hundred years ago, yet the ideas she
popularized—about cities, about people, about making a better
world—remain hugely relevant today. Now, in Jane
Jacobs: Champion of Cities, Champion of People,
we have the first biography for young people of the visionary
activist, urbanist, and thinker.
Debut
author Rebecca Pitts draws on archives and Jacobs’s own writings to
paint a vivid picture of a headstrong and principled young girl who
grew into one of the most important advocates of her time, and whose
impact on the city of New York in particular can still be seen today.
Jacobs went against the conventional wisdom of the time that said
cities should be designed by so-called experts, “cleaned up,” and
separated by use, arguing that such pie-in-the-sky visions paid very
little attention to the wants and needs of people who actually live
in cities. Jane instead championed diversity, community, “the life
of the street,” and the power of grassroots movements to make
cities better and more equitable for all. She never backed down, even
when it meant going up against the most powerful man in New York,
Robert Moses.
Here
is a story of standing up for what you know is right, with real-world
takeaways for young activists. Jane
Jacobs: Champion of Cities, Champion of People
emphasizes how today’s teens can take inspiration from Jane’s own
activism “playbook,” promoting change by focusing on local issues
and community organizing.