Season 3: Reading with Eric & Sara Joy
Episode 5 - The Death and life of great American cities
Who is a bigger fan of Jane Jacobs? In Episode 5 of Season 3, listen to Eric and Sara Joy wrestle that one out as they discuss Jacobs' pioneering work in her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.
In this episode Eric interviews Sara Joy about Jane Jacobs’ book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Written in 1961 this book represented a scathing critique of orthodox city planning from an unexpected source. Jane Jacobs was neither an architect nor a trained planner, but she was a keen observer of how cities and neighborhoods actually worked. She had the patience and instinct to look for the complex order at work within what appeared to be chaotic urban environments. And, she had the gumption not only to engage the ‘experts’ in a male dominated field, but to challenge some of their most sacred principles.
She writes in an engaging, disarming style and invites the reader to meet the people she knows and to love the places she loves as she describes the fundamental principles behind cities that are alive.
Links to resources and terms from this episode:
Resources
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took On New York's Master Builder and Transformed the American City by Anthony Flynn
The Good City and the Good Life: Renewing the American Community by Daniel Kemmis
The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community by Ray Oldenburg
Desiring the Kingdom by James K.A. Smith
The City as Liturgy: An Orthodox Theologian Corresponds with Jane Jacobs About a Gentle Reconciliation of Science and Religion by Dr. Timothy Patitsas
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City - Documentary
Picture of Eric's Beloved Jane Jacobs Linocut Print by his son @PeterJacobsenArt
key terms
Ballet of Street Life
Density
Eyes on the Street
Third Place