Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs was an American writer and activist who fought to make cities a better place to live. She wrote books and articles about how cities should be planned and built so that people could have places to work, shop and be together. She said cities should have mixed-use areas with homes, businesses and public spaces close together so people could walk and use public transportation instead of driving cars. She wanted cities to be safe, vibrant and full of life. She believed that ordinary people had the power to make their cities better and fought for change in her own city of New York. She also spread her ideas by travelling and speaking to people around the world.