Steve's review
The Economy of Cities
by Jane Jacobs
Steve's review
The Economy of Cities by Jane Jacobs
Steve's review
rating:
This isn't as well known as her classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities, but perhaps it should be. I have always been curious if further scholarship since its writing in the late '60s proved her hypothesis that agriculture came after settlements. She makes a convincing argument, based on archaeology of the time, that at trading posts/meeting places de facto seed trials might occur as well as the domestication of animals. Another interesting idea covered in the book is the role of import replacement in the economic growth of cities. She describes how this process of innovation and urban self-sufficiency occurs in urban regions with great clarity and readability.
