Damn. Jane Jacobs died today, at the age of 89. Obviously one had to expect that at her age, it was going to happen in the not-too-distant future. Still, it caught me off guard. I've just moved to The Annex, the same neighbourhood that Jacobs had lived in since 1968, and part of me fancied some magical moment where I walked by her house, introduced myself and was miraculously invited to talk about cities and big ideas with her. Alas, it is not to be

The closest I ever came to this icon was as a volunteer at the Urban Leadership Awards, held by the Canadian Urban Institute. Jane was presenting a lifetime achievement award to June Callwood. Jane spoke on several issues, making it perfectly well-known she had something to say and would speak until she had said it. Her gutsiness was admiring. This was the same gutsiness that led her to write her seminal book The Death and Life of Great American Cities and take on the planning regime of New York City's Robert Moses. While this sort of stance is hardly conceived of as rebellious, this was the 1950s, and Urban Renewal was in full swing, nevermind the fact that women weren't supposed to behave like that. By doing so, Jacobs played a key role in establishing urban activism and renewing a commitment to neighbourhoods alive.

While almost anyone else would be remembered for this alone, Jane Jacobs also made a contribution to the attempts of many to understand the world we live in. Well into her 80s, Jane published Dark Age Ahead, a critique of the direction North american society in particular has taken. Not only did she keep up the fight against familiar enemies - urban sprawl, road building insanity and auto dependence - but also addressed other problems she saw as particularly troubling: shifts in education from the concept of teaching learning skills and instilling values of openness and exploration to a system of credentials, as well as the decline in economic productivity and innovation. While many of her fellow activists did not always agree with her views, she nonetheless pursued the concepts that were important to her with a vigour that was unique to her.

I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to have seen Jane Jacobs speak the one time. I never had the opportunity to fight the Spadina Expressway with her, or advocate tirelessly for the preservation of New York's neighbourhoods. I do feel honoured though to have benefitted from her legacy. It is because of Jane that I live in a city that takes its communities seriously. It is because of Jane that we live in cities that take culture seriously. Most importantly, it is because of Jane that we continue to have an active and engaged group of citizens who constantly strive to improve the places they lived, even when the odds seem to be against them.

It is because of Jane Jacobs that we have cities worth living in, and continue to fight for them.

Rest in peace.