Description
In this indispensable book, urban visionary Jane Jacobs argues that as agrarianism gives way to a technology-based future, we're at risk of cultural collapse. Jacobs--renowned author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities and The Economy of Cities--pinpoints five pillars of our culture that are in serious decay: community and family; higher education; the effective practice of science; taxation, and government; and the self-regulation of the learned professions. The corrosion of these pillars, Jacobs argues, is linked to societal ills such as environmental crisis, racism, and the growing gulf between rich and poor.
But this is a hopeful book as well as a warning. Drawing on a vast frame of reference--from fifteenth-century Chinese shipbuilding to Ireland's cultural rebirth--Jacobs suggests how the cycles of decay can be arrested and our way of life renewed. Invigorating and accessible, Dark Age Ahead is not only the crowning achievement of Jane Jacobs' career, but one of the most important works of our time.Author: Jane Jacobs
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 05/17/2005
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.41lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.28w x 0.57d
ISBN13: 9781400076703
ISBN10: 1400076706
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Sociology | Urban
- Social Science | Anthropology | Cultural & Social
About the Author
Jane Jacobs was the legendary author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, a work that has never gone out of print and that has transformed the disciplines of urban planning and city architecture. Her other major works include The Economy of Cities, Systems of Survival, and The Nature of Economies. She died in 2006.