Steven Berlin Johnson writes about Jane Jacobs who died very recently. Jane wrote the book The Death and Life of Great American Cities which Steven referenced a good bit in his fantastic book Emergence.
Jane’s book is on my to-buy and to-read list and once I get everything else out of the way I plan on reading this. The New York Times also covers her life here. Her book is one of those books that will probably open up your mind. Cory Doctorow in remembering her work said:
Reading that book rendered visible whole rafts of secrets about how the world around me functioned. It was like taking off a blindfold.
Jacobs lived in Toronto since 68 – her death is very well covered here.