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
A region is an area safely larger than the last one to whose problems we found no solution.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that each unresolved issue pushes us to expand our understanding and seek solutions in broader contexts.
Jane Jacobs emphasizes that challenges and problems are not just isolated issues but represent an opportunity to engage with larger, more complex contexts. By recognizing that unresolved problems compel us to explore further and think beyond our immediate surroundings or experiences, we can open ourselves to new solutions and insights. The quote advocates for a broader perspective in problem-solving, promoting the idea that understanding and addressing issues requires looking beyond the familiar limits of our environments.
Themes
ProblemsSolutionsUnderstandingContextPerspective
In practice
Example use cases
During a community meeting discussing urban planning, this quote could be used to highlight the importance of looking at larger issues rather than just immediate concerns.
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.
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(The psuedoscience of planning seems almost neurotic in its determination to imitate empiric failure and ignore empiric success.)
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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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