Introduction

In the introduction of this book, Jacobs wrote her principles about city planning and rebuilding. For example, she asked that “what kinds of city streets are safe and what kinds are not; why some city parks are marvelous and other are vice traps and death traps…”Jane explored her specific point of view to describe why some cities just stay slum. She used her different opinion let readers understood the residents’ real world needs in the city. What do most people thinking and needs about their community? What do they lack for? If government puts a lot of money to rebuild the city, does the new plan will change the city to be better? In her point of view, she argued that the reformers only used the idea that learned from book to build the city, but it won’t help city get better. Also, she used some cities’ past rebuilding plan to prove why cities rebuild couldn’t succeed in history. Therefore, she wrote this book to encourage readers to observe the real world in cities, and observe what happens in people’ daily life in the cities. Those parts are important because cities are not only containing of the new buildings, we should also understood the residents’ needs in the cities. She believed if we understood her point of view, it would bring the social and economic benefit for the cities and the neighbors' public life would change better.