Nice summaries of her ideas here (shorter) and here (longer).
Why is an experimental psychologist (me) so interested in Jacobs’ work — which on the face of it has nothing to do with experimental psychology? Four reasons. From big to little:
1. I enjoy her books and articles. They are very well-written, discuss the stuff of everyday life — what I see when I walk through any city — and have lots of ideas that I hadn’t previously encountered.
2. Jacobs is essentially an economist. Psychology and economics are very close. Economics is psychology writ large, psychology is economics writ small. I came up with a theory of human evolution based on economics learned from Jacobs.
3. Jacobs wrote about something that fascinates me — how things begin. My longest paper is about how scientific ideas begin.
4. Self-experimentation had led me to conclusions outside experimental psychology — for example, conclusions about weight control and sleep. Jacobs, with no Ph.D. in anything, was even more an outsider.
That Jacobs essay made sense out of Paris for me. Paris (France, not Texas) is vibrant on the street and sidewalk level, compared to Dallas which is barren on the sidewalk level (though the underground actually has some life). The places that attempt classic city planning are vacant surprises, kind of fun to discover, but empty and alone.
Thanks for this post and the links.