on hearing of Jane Jacobs' death

I decided, a while back, to break the routine and take a different route on my walks, even if my destination was to be the same. It keeps my eyes fresh. One thing about a city is that you get used to certain landmarks, and from seeing them in certain ways. After some time, you're not seeing them at all. I'm pretty familiar with the John Hancock Building, so it was interesting for me to view it at this angle, layered with the older castle like building in the forefront, as I walked north on Clark. This sort of surprise comes with great frequency, once you decide to start looking around.

I read of Jane Jacobs' death in the New York Times. She wrote a book called, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," that made quite an impact at the time it was published and it is still highly regarded. From the excerpts I've read, she analyzes how cities work at a very human level. It sounds interesting to me, and I'm surprised I haven't read it yet. I've got it on my list of books for my next library visit. If anyone has read it and would care to comment, I'd love to hear your impression of her work.