Jacobs is a key figure in urban studies, despite her lack of formal training as an urban planner. Like conventional planners, she is well-versed in urban theory, but her work as a community activist distinguishes her from others in the field, giving her a unique perspective on the myriad issues confronting cities. She champions a fresh, community-oriented approach to city planning. Her method emphasizes embedded participation, anthropological observation (of city dwellers and their daily activities), and objective empiricism (statistics and facts about cities derived from empirical tools for documentation and analysis). Through the lens of activism, Jacobs seeks to expand the understanding of city life, inspire civic engagement, and engender creative responses to urgent urban problems.

Jacobs argues that urban planners should continuously question their methods and practices, addressing the ever-changing issues facing cities through trial and error. Her pragmatic, anti-essential approach is firmly rooted in her work as an activist in Greenwich Village, in particular, her campaign to protect Washington Square Park from the Lower Manhattan Expressway. The plan, devised by Robert Moses, called for the extension of Fifth Avenue through the park. In the 1950s, Jacobs joined the Committee to Save Washington Square Park, a coalition of local neighborhood organizations opposed to Moses’s plan.