Vague conclusions from Jacobs survey

[nancylebov]

I just asked people about whether they knew about Jane Jacobs and what their political orientation was. I'm forced to conclude that *maybe* Jacobs is a little better known among libertarians than non-libertarians, but that's swamped out by other factors, like whether you're interested in how cities work. It wouldn't surprised me if there's an age-based difference, too.

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Probably the age thing . . . I first became aware of her activist drives during the late sixties. Her fight to stem urban blight caused me to look at LA through new eyes, and to be frightened (I still am) at how impossible this city is to sustain, except by herculean efforts.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Nationality and city of residence may matter too. I'm guessing a Torontonian is a lot more likely to have heard of her than someone from Dallas.

[kgbooklog.livejournal.com]

Speaking as someone who works in Dallas County, I know of her solely from reading your blog.

[wouldyoueva.livejournal.com]

I know about her from a course I took in college but I doubt if even 1% of people my age could ID her.

[llennhoff.livejournal.com]

I didn't start reading her in until the 1990s. The works of hers that have had the most influence on my philosophy are her later ones - frex Systems of Survival: A Dialogue on the Moral Foundations of Commerce and Politics.

I read her works about city planning, but I had the Hamlet reaction(*).



(*) Hamlet's a good enough play, but there are so many cliches. Of course, they were original then ...

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

I read The Death and Life of Great American Cities at some point during the 1990s because it looked interesting. (I would have been my thirties, or possibly late 20s, at the time.) I must have missed seeing the poll on my friends page.

I wonder how much of my interest comes from growing up in North Jersey, and now living near Washington DC. The FedroSplat is dysfunctional in many ways that the NYC metro area is not.