Jane Jacobs, the woman who defended the vibrancy and diversity of city life against urban planners who sought to tear down slums, was born 100 years ago Wednesday. TIME once called her “the blunt poet laureate of the way modern cities really work.” Born in Scranton, Penn., on May 4, 1916 she moved to New York City in 1934 to live with her sister, and once in the city she worked a variety of jobs.