Samenvatting

In February 2007, I published a short review of the biography Jane Jacobs: Urban Visionary, in the Dutch weekly Intermediair. It began as follows: “The Jacobses are a close-knit, productive family. The most famous at this moment is perhaps my cousin Marc, chief designer for Louis Vuitton. My uncles Aad and Georges made a career for themselves in Dutch and Belgian business circles. The name of great-uncle Edgard P. might ring a bell among comic strip fans as the author of the renowned Blake & Mortimer series. But the one I’m most proud of is my American-Canadian great-aunt Jane who died last year.” I thought I had laid it on so heavily that nobody would believe that I was related to all these famous Jacobses. But people did believe it! I even received an email from a fellow professor from Delft, who was very impressed by the fact that I was related to the famous Jane Jacobs: “What a small world it is….”