A thorough investigation of how Jane Jacobs’s canonical work on the life, economy, and planning of vibrant cities grew from social and ethical perspectives formed in her home city, Scranton

Jane Jacobs’s First City vividly reveals that this influential thinker and writer’s classic works on the death and life of great cities, city and regional economies, and the moral foundations of society germinated in the once vibrant and attractive, medium-size city of Scranton, Pennsylvania. In the 1920s and 1930s, Scranton, where Jane spent her initial eighteen years, was a place of enormous diversity. Small businesses of all kinds abounded and flourished, and a wide variety of fresh-off-the-boat and established ethnic groups—including African Americans—lived cheek by jowl. Even recent immigrants could save enough to buy a house. Quality public education was cherished and supported by all. Opposing political parties joined forces to tackle problems, newspapers gathered and reported information with a sense of civic purpose and responsibility, and citizens worked together for the public good.

Through interviews with contemporary Scrantonians as well as historic newspapers, city directories, and vital records, we come to know Scranton as young Jane experienced it and understand the lasting impact of her growing up in this rich and accessible environment. Author Glenna Lang shows the development of Jane’s acute observational abilities from childhood through her passion in early adulthood to understand and write about what she saw. This book demonstrates why, at the end of Jacobs’s life, her thoughts and conversations increasingly returned to Scranton and the potential for cohesion and inclusiveness afforded by today’s often under-appreciated medium-size cities. Reflecting Jacobs’s belief in trusting one’s own direct observation above all, this volume is lavishly illustrated with historic and modern color images that help bring alive a lost Scranton—Jacobs’s hometown that first sparked her passion for cities.