In Jane Jacobs’ “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”, Jacobs sheds light on the thought process behind city planning, how that thought process came to be, and how that thought process is corrupt. Through giving specific examples via different big cities (New York, Boston, Philadelphia, etc.), she weaves in her overall message: that the base of city planning, and therefore cities in general, are a “hoax”; cities are built on a “foundation of nothing”. The founders on which modern city planning stems from all had a Utopian agenda; they wanted to create beautiful cities that catered to the upper class, leaving the people of lower income displaced without proper resources. Those who have the power to change cities via planning and avocation
