Jane Jacobs, 1916-2006

Jane Jacobs, the original urban planner who helped save Manhattan from an evil plan to cover it with highways, died this morning in Toronto. We at Austinist mourn her passing. Her vision of a livable downtown environment, explained in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, was a major factor in the rebirth of downtown living in the United States. Austin has just begun to reap the benefits of her insight.

*Image from wikipedia.org*