Despite having no formal training, Jane Jacobs is celebrated as one of the most innovative theorists in urban planning. As a writer and activist, Jacobs has advocated for community-based approaches to planning for over 40 years. She is the author of the classics "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" and "Cities and the Wealth of Nations." Published shortly before her death in April 2006, "Dark Age Ahead" draws on a lifetime of astute study and insight into the workings of North American society.
What is a Dark Age?
Drawing from Jared Diamond's study of the inequality between cultures, "Guns, Germs and Steel," Jacobs seeks to understand how societies decline and cultural knowledge is lost, forming the following principle that elaborates on the idea of "use it or lose it": "Losers are confronted with such radical jolts in circumstances that their institutions cannot adapt adequately, becomes irrelevant, and are dropped" (Jacobs, 20).
Jacobs goes on to describe how societies rely on their institutions; if the "stabilizing forces" within those institutions falter, then the culture deteriorates, often beyond repair. It is this dynamic that Jacobs fears is occurring in our society.
The Signs
Whether from the nightly news, the morning radio, or from our own observations, many of us despair at societal ills: crime, environmental destruction, racism, widespread distrust in the political process, and the widening gap between rich and poor seem only to grow worse.
According to Jacobs, such issues are symptomatic of larger threats. She pinpoints five "jeopardized pillars" that show signs of cultural decay:
- Community and family are eroding as evidenced from high divorce rates and also a less-recognized development; the growing gap between household costs and the means of the average family. Comparing statistics from the 1930s and onward, Jacobs states that "at some point in the 1970s, the two figures-- median shelter cost and median income-- slipped seriously out of whack" (Jacobs, 29). It has become increasingly hard for two people to support a family, despite the nuclear family remaining the ideal form of household organization.
- The trend in higher education is toward credentialing rather than truly educating and mentoring students.
- The practice of science and science-based technology has strayed from the true scientific state of mind, stagnating as comfortable worldviews and paradigms are clung to. Jacobs uses the example of urban planners who consistently ignore direct evidence that key tenets are wrong yet continue to support and teach them to the next generation of urban planners.
- Taxes and governmental powers are lacking in accountability and responsibility, growing out of touch with the concrete needs and responsibilities of people and communities.
- The learned professions are failing in their abilities to self-police and effectively regulate themselves, as evidenced in the crisis in corporate accountability in America, which resulted in the collapse of companies such as Enron.
Optimistic Outlook
Despite the central premise that North American society may be drifting into a cataclysmic decline, "Dark Age Ahead" remains hopeful at its core. As noted in the opening line, it is "both a gloomy and a hopeful book."
Jacobs' arguments are tempered with the reminder that a dark age is not inevitable, but remains within our control. The symptoms and dangers have been clearly outlined; however, as long as our society remains democratic and self-aware, there is hope that the pillars of community, family, education, science, government and professional regulation can be repaired and renewed.
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