--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good roads, canals, and navigable rivers…" description: "\"Good roads, canals, and navigable rivers, by diminishing the expence of carriage, put the remote parts of the country more nearly upon a level with wit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/adam-smith-1040_canals_good-roads-canals-and-navigable-rivers-b_2118744.jpg" --- # Good roads, canals, and navigable rivers, by diminishing… ![“Good roads, canals, and navigable rivers, by diminishing the expence of carriage, put the remote parts of the country more nearly upon a level with with those of the neighbourhood of the town. They are upon that the greatest of all improvements.” quote by Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/adam-smith-1040_canals_good-roads-canals-and-navigable-rivers-b_2118744.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/adam-smith-1040_canals_good-roads-canals-and-navigable-rivers-b_2118744.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b5/adam-smith-1040_canals_good-roads-canals-and-navigable-rivers-b_2118744.jpg) > “Good roads, canals, and navigable rivers, by diminishing the expence of carriage, put the remote parts of the country more nearly upon a level with with those of the neighbourhood of the town. They are upon that the greatest of all improvements.” [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Improving transport links reduces travel costs, making remote areas as accessible as nearby towns, which is a major societal benefit. **In simple terms:** Better transport makes remote areas as accessible as nearby towns. Key Takeaway Invest in transport infrastructure. Themes economics infrastructure equality Mood optimistic pragmatic Type analytical historical When to use this quote - government planning - business logistics - urban-rural integration Key Concepts cost reduction regional development market access Questions to Reflect On - How does transport affect regional inequality? - What other factors are needed for balanced development? A Different Perspective Infrastructure alone cannot address all social disparities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Canals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canals/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvement/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) ## Related quotes > [I do not object to the construction of rail roads and canals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/i-do-not-object-to-the-construction-of-rail-roads-and-canals/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [The course of a great statesman resembles that of navigable rivers, avoiding immovable obstacles with noble bends of concession, seeking the broad levels of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-course-of-a-great-statesman-resembles-that-of-navigable-rivers/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Of agitating good roads there is no end, and perhaps this is as it should be, but I think you'll agree that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-g-fisher/of-agitating-good-roads-there-is-no-end-and-perhaps-this-is-as-it/) Carl G. Fisher > [“...all the disadvantages of good roads: high speed, and almost total lack of that inspiring factor in travel -- the welcoming hand of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-edison-fulton-jr/all-the-disadvantages-of-good-roads-high-speed-and-almost-total-lack/) [Robert Edison Fulton Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-edison-fulton-jr/) > [Robin Vos and Scott Fitzgerald want to have good public schools, good roads and good health care for the people of Wisconsin. 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To complain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/the-liberal-reward-of-labour-therefore-as-it-is-the-affect-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [A sketch of a man facing to the right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/a-sketch-of-a-man-facing-to-the-right/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/what-can-be-added-to-the-happiness-of-a-man-who-is-in-health-out-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/it-is-not-from-the-benevolence-of-the-butcher-the-brewer-or-the-baker/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [When we have read a book or poem so often that we can no longer find any amusement in reading it by ourselves, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/when-we-have-read-a-book-or-poem-so-often-that-we-can-no-longer-find/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [We are but one of the multitude, in no respect better than any other in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/we-are-but-one-of-the-multitude-in-no-respect-better-than-any-other/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) [Explore all 267 Adam Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) ## More Canals quotes > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. 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It’s high-pitched and it enters your ear canals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/my-daughter-squealed-again-and-both-bubba-and-i-winced-it-s-not-an/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [The citizens of Love Canal provided an example of how a blue-collar community with few resources can win against great odds (a multi-billion-dollar international…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-gibbs/the-citizens-of-love-canal-provided-an-example-of-how-a-blue-collar/) [Lois Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-gibbs/) > [The problem was that Panama technically belonged to Colombia, which refused to sign a treaty leasing it to the United States. So Roosevelt sent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-problem-was-that-panama-technically-belonged-to-colombia-which/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [All this piling up of one technology on top of another-railroad on steamboat, interstate highway on railroad, hydroelectric dam on watermill-had reduced the Mississippi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/all-this-piling-up-of-one-technology-on-top-of-another-railroad-on/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [I miss that time. The cities back then, just after the forests died, were full of wonders, and you'd stumble on them--these princes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-that-time-the-cities-back-then-just-after-the-forests-died/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One learns little more about a man from his feats of literary memory than from the feats of his alimentary canal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-colby/one-learns-little-more-about-a-man-from-his-feats-of-literary-memory/) [Frank Moore Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-colby/) > [“The city's canals outnumber those in Venice,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonely-planet/the-city-s-canals-outnumber-those-in-venice/) Lonely Planet > [dating you would be like a series of unnecessary root canals interspersed with occasional makeout sessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/dating-you-would-be-like-a-series-of-unnecessary-root-canals/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I have had a number of patients with breast cancer, all of whom had root canals on the tooth related to the breast area…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-diamond/i-have-had-a-number-of-patients-with-breast-cancer-all-of-whom-had/) [John Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-diamond/) > [The digestive canal represents a tube passing through the entire organism and communicating with the external world, i.e. as it were the external surface…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-pavlov/the-digestive-canal-represents-a-tube-passing-through-the-entire/) [Ivan Pavlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-pavlov/) > [People generally have more feeling for canals and roads than education. 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