[1] He is Emeritus professor of the School of Planning and Landscape Architecture of the Universite de Montreal, Emeritus Chair of the Commission on Environmental Planning of the International Union for the conservation of nature (IUCN), Past President of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA), Chair of the Kativik Environmental Quality Commission (from 1979) and a Member of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts.

His commitment to the urban landscape was derived from his experience of the cultural diversity and convivial social energy of Montreal.

Due to his expertise, Peter Jacobs has been invited to evaluate numerous academic programs in Canada, Israel, Columbia, France, China and Spain.

[1][7] His research and community activities have focused on the sustainable and equitable development and conservation of the landscape in association with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with the Kativik Environmental Quality Commission as Chair of the commission (KEQC) since 1979,[8] and as Chair of the Public Advisory Council for the Canadian State of the Environment Report (1991).

[9] Jacobs was one of the early participants in a variety of environmental evaluation formats related to urban development and the North, both as a chair and a member of numerous public commissions.

[8] He also co-Chaired the public hearings related to the environmental impacts of the Great Whale Hydoelectric Project flowing into James Bay, Quebec (1992–1994).

He has served as vice-president of the Solomon Schecter Academy (1973–1976), advisor to the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, member of the intercultural advisory committee of the City of Montreal, and president of the Jewish Public Library of Montreal(1996–2000)[15] He has also served as Chair of the community planning and allocations committee and as a Director of the Federation of Jewish Community Agencies, the United Israel Agencies of Canada and the Canadian Jewish National Fund and is an Officer of the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue, Westmount, Quebec.