56 pages • 1 hour read
Jane JacobsThe Death and Life of Great American Cities
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1961A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
What do towns, suburbs, and imaginary dream cities have in common? How do they differ from great cities?
Discuss how activism informs Jacobs’s approach to urbanism.
What is “the sidewalk ballet?” Discuss Jacobs’s use of the phrase to structure her account of a typical day on New York City’s Hudson Street.
Jacobs draws a distinction between privacy and togetherness. What is the difference between the two? Why is one associated with the city, and the other not?
How do recreational experts view children playing on sidewalks? How does Jacobs’s attitude differ?
What conventional ideas about parks does Jacobs seek to upturn?
In Chapter 19, Jacobs states that “a city cannot be a work of art” (373). Explain what she means by this. Is this problem specific to large cities, or does it also impact small towns and suburbs?
Jacobs first published The Death and Life of Great American Cities in 1961. In what ways does the book reflect broader preoccupations of its time? Discuss Jacobs’s work in relation to one of her contemporaries.
Discuss three arguments in Jacobs book that have not stood the test of time.
Jacobs’s pioneering study challenged the dominant theories of the planning establishment. Although planners initially rejected her ideas, new generations embraced them. Discuss Jacobs’s influence on current urban renewal practice.
