Editing Jane Jacobs (section)

== Works ==
Jane Jacobs spent her life studying cities. Her books include:

=== ''The Death and Life of Great American Cities'' ===
{{Main|The Death and Life of Great American Cities}}
''The Death and Life of Great American Cities'' is her single-most influential book and, possibly, the most influential book on urban planning and cities. Published in 1961, this book was widely read by both planning professionals and the general public. The book is a strong critique of the urban renewal policies of the 1950s, which, she claimed, destroyed communities and created isolated, unnatural urban spaces. In the book, she celebrates the diversity and complexity of old mixed-use neighborhoods while lamenting the monotony and sterility of modern planning.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the City|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediacity00cave|url-access=limited|last=Caves|first=R. W.|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=9780415252256|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediacity00cave/page/n445 405]}}</ref> Jacobs advocated the abolition of zoning laws and restoration of free markets in land, which would result in dense, mixed-use neighborhoods and she frequently cited New York City's [[Greenwich Village]] as an example of a vibrant urban community.

[[Robert Caro]] has cited it as the strongest influence on ''[[The Power Broker]]'', his [[Pulitzer Prize|Pulitzer]]-winning biography of Robert Moses, although Caro does not mention Jacobs by name in the book despite Jacobs's battles with Moses over his proposed [[Lower Manhattan Expressway]]. Caro reportedly cut a chapter about Jacobs due to his book's length.<ref>{{cite web|last=Oder|first=Norman|title=The Missing Jane Jacobs Chapter in The Power Broker|url=http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2007/10/missing-jane-jacobs-chapter-in-power.html|website=atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com|access-date=9 October 2007}}</ref>

Beyond the practical lessons in city design and planning that ''Death and Life'' offers, the theoretical underpinnings of the work challenge the modern development mindset. Jane Jacobs defends her positions with common sense and anecdotes.

=== ''The Economy of Cities'' ===
The thesis of this 1979 book is that cities are the primary drivers of economic development. Her main argument is that explosive economic growth derives from urban [[import replacement]]. Import replacement is the process of producing goods locally that formerly were imported, e.g., Tokyo bicycle factories replacing Tokyo bicycle importers in the 1800s. Jacobs claims that import replacement builds up local infrastructure, skills, and production. Jacobs also claims that the increased production is subsequently exported to other cities, giving those other cities a new opportunity to engage in import replacement, thus producing a positive cycle of growth.

In an interview with Bill Steigerwald in ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'', Jacobs said that if she is remembered for being a great intellectual she will be remembered not for her work concerning city planning, but for the discovery of [[import replacement]]. Critics erroneously claim that her ideas parrot the idea of [[import substitution industrialization|import substitution]] advanced earlier by scholars such as [[Andre Gunder Frank]]. Import substitution was a national economic theory implying that if a nation substituted its imports with national production, the nation would become wealthier, whereas Jacob's idea is entirely about cities and could be called urban import substitution. However, even this would lead to confusion since in practice, import substitution in India and Latin America were government subsidized and mandated, whereas Jacobs's concept of import replacement is a free market process of discovery and division of labor within a city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reason.com/archives/2001/06/01/city-views|title=City Views|work=Reason|last=Steigerwald|first=Bill|date=June 2001}}</ref>

In the second part of the book, Jacobs argues that cities preceded agriculture. She argues that in cities trade in wild animals and grains allowed for the initial division of labor necessary for the discovery of husbandry and agriculture; these discoveries then moved out of the city due to land competition. It is commonly taught that agriculture preceded cities. This notion was promoted originally by archaeologist [[Vere Gordon Childe]] and in recent times, by  [[Charles Keith Maisels]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Maisels|first=Charles Keith|date=1990|title=The Emergence of Civilisation: From Hunting and Gathering to Agriculture, Cities, and the State in the Near East|publisher=Routledge|location=New York}}</ref>{{sfn|Soja|2000|p=24}} The apparent opposition between the traditional history and Jacobs' rests in differing definition of 'city', 'civilization', or 'urban'. Traditional history and archeology define 'urban' or 'civilization' as [[Synoecism]]{{snd}}as a literate, socially stratified, monolithic political community,{{sfn|Soja|2000|p=25}} whereas, as one can see from ''The Economy of Cities'' or from ''Cities and the Wealth of Nations'', Jacobs defined the city purely along the lines of geographically dense trade giving way to entrepreneurial discovery and subsequent improvements in the division of labor. Without the requirements of literacy, permanent and monumental building, or the signs of specialized civil and armed forces, 'cities' can be accurately interpreted as existing thousands of years before when Childe and Maisels place them.

=== ''The Question of Separatism'' ===

''The Question of Separatism: Quebec and the Struggle over Sovereignty'' incorporated and expanded Jacobs's presentation of the 1979 [[Massey Lectures]], entitled ''Canadian Cities and Sovereignty-Association''. It was published in 1980 and reprinted in 2011 with a previously-unpublished 2005 interview with [[Robin Philpot]] on the subject in which she evokes the relative overlooking of that book among her usual readership. This was the first time Jacobs was requested to discuss it in an interview. Columnist [[Richard Gwyn (Canadian writer)|Richard Gwyn]] advanced that while not openly criticizing her, English-speaking Canadian readers thought she did not understand how Canadian politics worked and that she was not being helpful in a time of distress for national unity (the [[1980 Quebec referendum|1980 referendum]] was just defeated by a vote of 60 per cent). ''The Question of Separatism'' was also not mentioned in the bibliography of her 2006 obituary in ''[[The Globe and Mail]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Philpot |first=Robin |page=X |chapter=Preface to the 2011 edition |title=Jane Jacobs, The Question of Separatism: Quebec and the Struggle over Sovereignty|publisher=Baraka Books |year=2011}}</ref>

Jacobs's book advances the view that [[Quebec sovereignty movement|Quebec's eventual independence]] is best for [[Montreal]], Toronto, the rest of Canada, and the world; and that such independence can be achieved peacefully. As precedent, she cites [[Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden|Norway's secession from Sweden]] and how it enriched both nations. The origins of the contemporary secessionist-movement in the [[Quiet Revolution]] are examined, along with Canada's historical reliance on [[natural resources]] and foreign-owned manufacturing for its own [[economic development]]. Jacobs asserts that such an approach is colonial and hence backward, citing by example, Canada buying its [[skis]] and furniture from Norway or Norwegian-owned factories in Canada, the latter procedure being a product of Canadian [[tariff]]s designed specifically to foster such factories.

The relevant public views of [[René Lévesque]], [[Claude Ryan]], and then Prime Minister [[Pierre Elliott Trudeau|Pierre Trudeau]] are also critically analyzed, an example being their failure to recognize that two respective, independent [[Currency|currencies]] are essential to the success of an independent Quebec and a smaller resultant Canada, an issue that is central to her book. Jacobs stresses the need for Montreal to continue developing its leadership of [[Québécois (word)|Québécois]] culture, but that ultimately, such a need can never be fulfilled by Montreal's increasing tendencies toward [[regional]]-city status, tendencies foretelling economic, political, and cultural subservience to English-speaking Toronto. Such an outcome, Jacobs believed, would in the long run doom Quebec's independence as much as it would hinder Canada's own future. She concludes with her observation that the popular equating of political secession with political and economic failure is the result of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], which perceived [[nature]] as a force for "standardization, uniformity, universality, and immutability". Since then, naturalists and their readers have gradually realized that nature is a force for diversity, and that, "diversity itself is of the essence of excellence". The right kind of secession, Jacobs states, can lead to the right kind of diversity, and Quebec and Canada are capable of both, and must achieve both, to survive.

=== ''Cities and the Wealth of Nations'' ===
''[[Cities and the Wealth of Nations]]'' (1984) attempts to do for economics what ''[[The Death and Life of Great American Cities]]'' did for modern urban planning, although it has not received the same critical attention. Beginning with a concise treatment of classical economics, this book challenges one of the fundamental assumptions of the greatest economists. Classical (and Neo-classical) economists consider the nation-state to be the main player in [[macroeconomics]]. Jacobs argues that it is not the nation-state, rather it is the city that is the true player in this worldwide game. She restates the idea of import replacement from her earlier book ''[[The Economy of Cities]]'', while speculating on the further ramifications of considering the city first and the nation second, or not at all.

'''A spectrum of economic regions'''

Along with the previous books focused on economics, Jacobs proposes an array of types of regional economies (stylized facts) which can help to understand their different challenges, and potential for development. One can start at the bottom end of the spectrum with the ''''backward' region''', which are economies who have lost their competitive advantages and are losing population or becoming dependent on ''largesse'' transfers from wealthier areas. Next are the ''''supply regions'''', which are usually known as natural resource extraction towns, and may be very wealthy during their heyday, but often suffer a decline into backwardness if the resource has run-out or has been substituted on outside markets. Similar to this is the ''''transplant region'''', a fundamental aspect of Jacobs economic theory. Transplant economies are usually manufacturing plants who have been moved from the location where the product was invented. The reason for the transplant is to save land, labour, fiscal, and transportation costs. Transplant regions are usually found along main transportation routes, where there is a large labour pool of available labour. Backward regions, Supply regions, and Transplant regions make up the most vulnerable types of economies to outside shocks and competition from low-cost production zones.
The Jacobs spectrum of regions also includes types of cities which rely on classical principles of central-location. Jacobs discusses ''''Entrepôt cities'''', which are economies based on the accumulation and warehousing of export goods, usually at a maritime port location. Next are ''''Hub cities'''', or regional capitals, which are central locations for private markets and public services in a given geography. 
Finally, Jacobs presents the qualities of growing metropolitan areas. Jacobs defines the metropolis as a city that grows beyond its political borders. She terms the core city as the ''''Import-Replacing'''' city. She terms the suburban sprawl of the metropolis as the ''''City-Region''''. Economic literature sometimes uses the term ''Jacobs agglomeration'' for these growing and innovative cities. CA Ramsay has proposed the term Forward Cities, as an echo to the opposing principle of 'Backward' economies.<ref>[https://www.barakabooks.com/catalogue/cities-matter/ ''Cities Matter, A Montrealer's Ode to Jane Jacobs, Economist'']</ref>

According to Jacobs, economies are constantly evolving and may move in and out of any of these categories. However, for an export-based economy such as a supply region, or a transplant town, to develop into a Forward city, the economy must engage in what she terms new-work. This implies a diversification of the economy. Jacobs strongly encourages breakaway entrepreneurship and local investment capital to do this. The modus operandi may be in import-replacing, in world-first innovation, or the adoption of production which is new to the community. Jacobs also insists on the benefits of having a city-currency, which acts as a positive feedback mechanism, to help drive local innovation and import-replacement. It also protects from outside demand shocks.

=== ''Systems of Survival'' ===
{{Main|Systems of Survival}}

''Systems of Survival: A Dialogue on the Moral Foundations of Commerce and Politics'' (1992) moves outside of the city, studying the moral underpinnings of [[labour (economics)|work]]. As with her other work, she used an observational approach. This book is written as a [[Plato]]nic dialogue. It appears that she (as described by characters in her book) took newspaper clippings of moral judgments related to work, collected and sorted them to find that they fit two patterns of moral behavior that were mutually exclusive. She calls these two patterns "moral syndrome A", or commercial moral syndrome, and "moral syndrome B", or guardian moral syndrome. She claims that the commercial moral syndrome is applicable to business owners, scientists, farmers, and traders. Similarly, she claims that the guardian moral syndrome is applicable to government, charities, hunter-gatherers, and religious institutions. She also claims that these moral syndromes are fixed, and do not fluctuate over time.

It is important to stress that Jane Jacobs is providing a theory about the morality of work, and not all moral ideas. Moral ideas that are not included in her system are applicable to both syndromes.

Jane Jacobs goes on to describe what happens when these two moral syndromes are mixed, showing the work underpinnings of the [[American Mafia|Mafia]] and communism, and what happens when [[New York City Subway|New York subway]] police are paid bonuses here – reinterpreted slightly as a part of the larger analysis.

=== ''The Nature of Economies'' ===
''The Nature of Economies'' (2000), a dialog between friends concerning the premise: "human beings exist wholly within nature as part of the natural order in every respect" (p. ''ix''), argues that the same principles underlie both [[ecosystem]]s and [[economic system|economies]]: "development and co-development through differentiation and their combinations; expansion through diverse, multiple uses of energy; and self-maintenance through self-refueling" (p.&nbsp;82). Jacobs also comments on the nature of economic and biological diversity and its role in the development and growth of the two kinds of systems.

Jacobs's characters discuss the four methods by which "dynamically stable systems" may evade collapse: "bifurcations; [[positive feedback|positive-feedback loops]]; [[negative feedback|negative-feedback controls]]; and emergency adaptations" (p.&nbsp;86). Their conversations also cover the "double nature of fitness for survival" (traits to avoid destroying one's own habitat as well as success in competition to feed and breed, p.&nbsp;119), and unpredictability including the [[butterfly effect]] characterized in terms of multiplicity of variables as well as disproportional response to cause, and [[self-organization]] where "a system can be making itself up as it goes along" (p.&nbsp;137).

The book is infused with many real-world economic and biological examples, which help keep the book "down to earth" and comprehensible, if dense. Concepts are furnished with both economic and biological examples, showing their coherence in both worlds.

One particularly interesting insight is the creation of "something from nothing" – an economy from nowhere. In the biological world, free energy is given through sunlight, but in the economic world human creativity and natural resources supply this free energy, or at least starter energy. Another interesting insight is the creation of economic diversity through the combination of different technologies, for example the typewriter and television as inputs and outputs of a computer system: this can lead to the creation of "new species of work".

=== ''Dark Age Ahead'' ===
{{Main|Dark Age Ahead}}

Published in 2004 by Random House, ''Dark Age Ahead'' posits Jacobs's argument that North American civilization shows signs of a spiral decline comparable to the Roman empire's collapse. Her discussion focuses on "five pillars of our culture that we depend on to stand firm", summarized as the nuclear family and community; quality in education; free thought in science; representational government and responsible taxes; and corporate and professional accountability. As the title of this book suggests, Jacobs's outlook is far more pessimistic than that of her previous works. However, in the conclusion she admits: "At a given time it is hard to tell whether forces of cultural life or death are in the ascendancy. Is sub[[urban sprawl]], with its murders of communities and wastes of land, time, and energy, a sign of decay? Or is rising interest in overcoming sprawl a sign of vigor and adaptability in North American culture? Arguably, either could turn out to be true."<ref>{{cite journal|first=Peter L.|last=Laurence|title=Dark Age Ahead? Jane Jacobs' Latest Book in Context|journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians|volume=64|date=March 2005|doi=10.2307/25068137|jstor=25068137}}</ref> While Jacobs idealized US democracy, ''Dark Age Ahead'' echoes the skepticism and disappointment that led to her emigration to Canada in 1968.<ref>{{cite book|first=Peter L.|last=Laurence|title=Becoming Jane Jacobs|place=Philadelphia|publisher=University of Pennsylvania|year=2016|pages=53–54, 304–305}}</ref> Later, she would indicate that North American cultures, among others, were grounded in a "plantation mentality" that was culturally and ecologically unsustainable.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Peter L.|last=Laurence|title=Jane Jacobs's Urban Ethics|journal=Cities|volume=91|date=August 2019|pages=29–38|doi=10.1016/j.cities.2018.02.028|s2cid=85454787}}</ref>