Her first book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" is a beautifully written explanation of what makes cities work and thrive, what makes city life so special. She speaks of the primacy of neighborhoods, of the destructive qualities of the automobile, of the vitality of mixed use, of the grave dangers of planning and utopian visions.
She moves on in her next book,"The Economy of Cities", and argues that cities are the engine of economic growth, that even rural areas thrive only when they are able to meet urban demand. Recent archeological findings indeed show that, counter intuitively, agriculture began in the cities of Anatolia.
"Cities and the Wealth of Nations" continues that argument and says that cities, rather than nations, are the real economic units. The success of Singapore and Hong Kong provides empirical evidence for this thesis.
In "Systems of Survival" (If you just read one of her books, read this one) she moves on to ethics and suggests that we as humans have always had two systems of ethics for work, one designed for commercial relations the other for what she calls guardian relations. For example, a businessman who will not sell to anyone who comes into his store is a cretin and perhaps a racist but a spy who sells his secrets to whoever pays more is a traitor. That which we admire, which works, in one system, is criminal in the other. The problem, she says, is when we confuse these two systems, for example when you give policemen (along with soldiers the archetypal guardians) a quota (a useful tool in commercial relations), they will inevitably start arresting people who otherwise they would have let go.
Her last book, "Dark Age Coming" seems pessimistic but she said all in all, she has high hopes for our civilization. She says the battle for our soul is between our cars and our songs, "and we have great songs".
Her greatness is from her commitment to observing the world without preconceptions, figuring out the world empirically rather than theoretically. She tells the story of being shown just built housing project with wide empty lawns. Next to it was a teeming street, full of life. The architect accompanying her proudly noted the features that he thought made the project better. He was consumed by the current theory in urban planning. She trusted her own eyes.
The world is much richer for me, I see and understand much more because I have read her books. She is a truly original and brilliant thinker and I cannot recommend her books highly enough. In 1992, I spent two days on the campaign bus with then Governor Bill Clinton. At the time, I was rereading "Cities and the Wealth of Nations". One of my few regrets in life is that I did not give it to him.
Comments are closed on this story.