Jane Jacobs

29 May 2007
Wikipedia entry

Writings

  • The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) -- the classic attack on "Garden city" urban planning and renewal
  • The Economy of Cities (1969) -- First statement of the idea that city economies grow through import replacement (not to be confused with government attempts at import substitution). Memorably she argues that cities predated agriculture.
  • The question of separatism: Quebec and the struggle over sovereignty (1980)
  • Cities and the Wealth of Nations: Principles of Economic Life (1984) -- Building on the 1969 book, stating that cities are the fundamental economic unit, not nations, that cities should have their own currencies, for proper feedback, and that large nation-states are destined to stagnate. Also, she finally started giving references for all the fascinating facts she uses to support her arguments.
  • Systems of survival: a dialogue on the moral foundations of commerce and politics (1992) -- Platonic dialogue on the two moral systems, producer morality and guardian morality.
  • The Nature of Economies (2000) -- Another dialogue. I can't recap it easily.
  • Dark Age Ahead (2004)

  • Library of Congress citations
  • Links to writings on the web.

    Interviews

  • Convention Follies interview
  • All About Canoe
  • Whole Earth interview
  • Reason
  • Kunstler

    Reviews

  • Solow's critical review of The Nature of Economies.

    Other pages

  • CNN article
  • Boston College symposium
  • PPS
  • Gene Callahan at mises.org City Journal
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