Being human is itself difficult, and therefore all kinds of settlements (except dream cities) have problems. Big cities have difficulties in abundance, because they have people in abundance.
Jane JacobsRead
Lowly, unpurposeful and random as they may appear, sidewalk contacts are the small change from which a city's wealth of public life may grow.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of seemingly insignificant interactions in public spaces for fostering community and vibrancy in cities.
Jane Jacobs highlights how the small, often overlooked interactions that occur on sidewalks contribute significantly to the richness and vibrancy of urban life. These 'sidewalk contacts', which may seem trivial, are crucial for building social connections and a sense of community, ultimately leading to a thriving public life in cities.
Themes
UrbanCommunitySidewalkInteractionsPublic Life
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on urban development, one might cite this quote to emphasize the importance of designing public spaces to encourage social interactions.
More from Jane Jacobs
All quotes βIt may be that we have become so feckless as a people that we no longer care how things do work, but only what kind of quick, easy outer impression they give. If so, there is little hope for our cities or probably for much else in our society. But I do not think this is so.
Jane JacobsRead
Streets and their sidewalks-the main public places of a city-are its most vital organs.
Jane JacobsRead
(The psuedoscience of planning seems almost neurotic in its determination to imitate empiric failure and ignore empiric success.)
Jane JacobsRead
Whenever and wherever societies have flourished and prospered rather than stagnated and decayed, creative and workable cities have been at the core of the phenomenon. Decaying cities, declining economies, and mounting social troubles travel together. The combination is not coincidental.
Jane JacobsRead
This is what a city is, bits and pieces that supplement each other and support each other.
Jane JacobsRead
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