Penguin Books, 1964 | Softcover, 473pp | 18 × 11 cm | First Peliican Edition
A landmark work of urban theory and social critique, The Death and Life of Great American Cities remains one of the most influential and readable challenges to post-war planning orthodoxy. Writing against modernist zoning, top-down redevelopment and the cult of the master planner, Jane Jacobs advances a radically human view of the city — one rooted in density, diversity, street life and everyday observation.
First published in the US in 1961, this scarce Pelican paperback edition brought Jacobs’ arguments to a wide British readership at a moment when large-scale urban renewal was reshaping cities across the UK and Europe. Her defence of “messy” urban vitality over abstract planning models has since become foundational to contemporary thinking on cities, architecture and civic life.
The cover design by Germano Facetti — combining photographic montage with graphic abstraction — is a classic of mid-century Penguin design and a key example of the Pelican series’ visual identity.
Very good vintage condition:Light general shelf wear to covers. Spine creased, but legible. Pages show even age-toning throughout with occasional light spotting. Internally clean, tightly bound, and complete. Previous owner’s signature to half-title page.
