The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Fantastic text, dull on audio

This text is foundational on the subject and I can't speak negatively about it, but it is difficult to listen to for the duration simply because it's so academic.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Dated But Relevant

A must read for the history of urban life and how important it is to think of cities like a living organism, in need of understanding on a deeper level, and in need of sustenance from within and above. Also provides a road map of local political action in confronting governmental mistakes and powerful people. Gives great power to the working poor. Written in the early 1960s about a New York City urban life that no longer exists, it still rings true for older listeners who remember such a time.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Robotic voice narration

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A different narrator

What did you like best about this story?

The actual story

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Donna Rawlins?

Someone less robotic (I think this narrator must be the person they hire for voice programming making her voice associated with Siri-esque narration)

What character would you cut from The Death and Life of Great American Cities?

N/A

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Still good for thought

I attempted to read the dead tree version of this book and did not get far. I appreciate the narrator because it seemed a bit more accessible in an audible format. I will listen to it again but with a dead tree version close at hand because there are ideas that Jacobs mentions that I'd like to spend a bit more time thinking about before rolling on to the next thought.
I've read urban planning commentary that quotes or refers to this Jacobs book as if it were the Bible. Listening to it for myself, I wonder if this is the same author people bring up when they talk about historic preservation, because I got a completely different sense of what she was saying, which is why I need a paper version as well.
Another commenter mentioned the book is dated. Yes, it is, but is informative regarding big cities and the motivations of city administrators and politicians in regards to federal funds and the motivation to big build stupid projects that do nothing for the citizen on the ground. That is still going on, even though those same city administrators may claim a love for Jacob's ideas.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Vital Book

A must-to-read book for any architect or urban planner. Theory is deep and language's a bit hard. Need to read it many time. It worths it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

An important book for architects!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Death and Life of Great American Cities to be better than the print version?

A thoroughly written book with deep insight into city planning, development, mixed use, the importance of diversity and urbanism in general. Jane Jacobs will stand out as a pillar and a strong reminder of what's still going on today, only that the scale of things have now, gone totally out of whack. The dynamics of people and economical forces (high or low) will be the same as long as the industrial world operate with the same systems as today. The reader for this audiobook could have been a little more vivid in expression and melody, but the diction is flawless.

"a must hear"

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Jane Jacobs Never Disappoints

This was my fifth reading of "Death and Life," and I continue to be amazed by the quality of Jane Jacobs's writing, research, and relevancy. Jane is simply brilliant! Donna Rawlins's narration is admirable and enjoyable to listen to. However, there are several mispronounced words that are quite surprising and rather disappointing, especially for a work of such importance. For example, the correct reading is "land uses"—comprised of two words—not "landuses" with an emphasis on the "d." There are no “deuces” in this book. Also, why does Ms. Rawlins pronounce the word “renaissance” with an emphasis on a long vowel "a"? As far as I know, no English speaking nation or region pronounces the word in this manner. These simple errors are beneath the author, the narrator, and the producer, and I highly encourage the publisher to correct these errors in a future edition (and soon).

Amazing! Insightful and interesting.

The first few chapters on the phenomenon of cities and the final chapter are brilliant. Her policy prescriptions in the second half of the book are slightly dated given this book was written more than half a century ago. Jane's detailed description of this organized, complex adaptive system are beautiful.

Slow and Repetitive

Slow and repetitive, but the book is a bit old. Perhaps we've learned more about city planning sine the 1960s? In any event the book was certainly groundbreaking in its day,. Today it simply identifies those things we know to bring life to cities.

New light for understanding cities!

I learned about this book in "Scale" by Geoffrey West. Jane Jacob's classic lived up to West's high regard for her systems thinking about cities. Her book changed the way I look at a city.. Although it discusses situations from 70 years ago, the perspectives seem fresh and relevant now. If you're on a path to learn how cities function, this book adds fresh rays of light for understanding what is actually going on.