The Death and Life of Great American Urban Activists.

"In the weeks to come, much will be written about her central role in shaping our ideas -- and our ideals -- of urbanism. The praise will be deserved. During the 1960s, a time when the reigning orthodoxy was urban renewal, which generally took the form of urban demolition, she championed a more evolutionary, humanist, and small-scale approach to city planning." Slate's Witold Rybczynski ruminates on the legacy of Jane Jacobs, who passed away yesterday (1916-2006.)