--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our cities are not polluted or congested…" description: "\"Our cities are not polluted or congested because they have to be. They are what they are because that's how we made them.\" — Bjarke Ingels" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/bjarke-ingels-15759_because_our-cities-are-not-polluted-or-congested_2027861.jpg" --- # Our cities are not polluted or congested because they have… ![“Our cities are not polluted or congested because they have to be. They are what they are because that's how we made them.” quote by Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/bjarke-ingels-15759_because_our-cities-are-not-polluted-or-congested_2027861.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/bjarke-ingels-15759_because_our-cities-are-not-polluted-or-congested_2027861.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/bjarke-ingels-15759_because_our-cities-are-not-polluted-or-congested_2027861.jpg) > “Our cities are not polluted or congested because they have to be. They are what they are because that's how we made them.” [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cities reflect design choices, not inevitability; we shape them through planning and technology. **In simple terms:** Cities are built the way we design them. Key Takeaway Design with intention to improve livability. Themes urban planning design sustainability agency environment Mood reflective optimistic critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - city development - transport planning - public spaces - policy making Key Concepts systems thinking human-centered design resilience Questions to Reflect On - What design choices could reduce congestion? - How can community input reshape urban spaces? A Different Perspective Design constraints and budget limits can hinder ideal outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Because](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Cities Polluted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities-polluted-3707775/) [Congested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congested-1447271/) [How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how/) [Our](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our/) [Polluted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polluted/) [Polluted Congested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polluted-congested-3707776/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) ## Related quotes > [As the avenues and streets of a city are nothing less than its arteries and veins, we may well ask what doctor would venture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-ferriss/as-the-avenues-and-streets-of-a-city-are-nothing-less-than-its/) [Hugh Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-ferriss/) > [New York as a city, it's congested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glorilla/new-york-as-a-city-it-s-congested/) [GloRilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glorilla/) > [As much as I love L.A., I don't want to live in L.A. I feel very congested when I'm in the city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-ballinger/as-much-as-i-love-l-a-i-don-t-want-to-live-in-l-a-i-feel-very/) [Colleen Ballinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-ballinger/) > [Coming from L.A., rush hour from 8 to 10 and from 3 to 5 on the freeways. Everything was so congested. Indiana, there's never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-miller/coming-from-l-a-rush-hour-from-8-to-10-and-from-3-to-5-on-the/) [Reggie Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-miller/) > [I understand how it feels to stand in a crowded train, to be stuck in congested traffic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-seah/i-understand-how-it-feels-to-stand-in-a-crowded-train-to-be-stuck-in/) [Nicole Seah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-seah/) > [“At times we'll want to escape our polluted reality... not augment it with digital Debris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clyde-desouza/at-times-we-ll-want-to-escape-our-polluted-reality-not-augment-it/) [Clyde DeSouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clyde-desouza/) > [Today, our air, food, water-all are polluted. If we do not stop exploiting nature for our temporary selfish gains, we will destroy the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/today-our-air-food-water-all-are-polluted-if-we-do-not-stop/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [Once we start thinking of ourselves as polluted, there is not much incentive to behave well, and the trip down the slippery slope is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/once-we-start-thinking-of-ourselves-as-polluted-there-is-not-much/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Only when the last river has been polluted, and the last tree been cut down, and the last fish been caught, will we realise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/only-when-the-last-river-has-been-polluted-and-the-last-tree-been-cut/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [The air that people breathe in many Chinese cities has become dangerously polluted. Their food supply is subject to constant contamination scandals. Now it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fallows/the-air-that-people-breathe-in-many-chinese-cities-has-become/) [James Fallows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fallows/) > [A river of images and thoughts and feelings, dirtied and polluted so that no one could drink from it without gagging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/a-river-of-images-and-thoughts-and-feelings-dirtied-and-polluted-so/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [We are close to dead. There are faces and bodies like gorged maggots on the dance floor, on the highway, in the city, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/we-are-close-to-dead-there-are-faces-and-bodies-like-gorged-maggots/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [If you open up your heart You will know what I mean We've been polluted so long But here's a way for you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/if-you-open-up-your-heart-you-will-know-what-i-mean-we-ve-been/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [We have no other option but to back to basics in order to survive in the polluted world around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandrababu-vs/we-have-no-other-option-but-to-back-to-basics-in-order-to-survive-in/) [Chandrababu VS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandrababu-vs/) > [I think our system is being polluted by money,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/i-think-our-system-is-being-polluted-by-money/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) ## More by Bjarke Ingels > [People outside the profession of architecture perhaps often lack the understanding of how their physical environment comes into being. What are the processes, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/people-outside-the-profession-of-architecture-perhaps-often-lack-the/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [I really focus on the ball, I really focus on the work, and I really focus on creating all the growth opportunities for anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/i-really-focus-on-the-ball-i-really-focus-on-the-work-and-i-really/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [When I moved to America, everybody was asking, 'Why the hell are you going to America? It's over; you should be going east.' But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/when-i-moved-to-america-everybody-was-asking-why-the-hell-are-you/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [Architecture is restricted to such a limited vocabulary. A building is either a high-rise or a perimeter block or a town house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/architecture-is-restricted-to-such-a-limited-vocabulary-a-building-is/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [Today, we have sophisticated building technology: we can calculate and simulate the environments and performance of the building, the thermal exposure of envelop, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/today-we-have-sophisticated-building-technology-we-can-calculate-and/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [I think the biggest backhanded criticism-compliment I get is that I'm 'good at communicating.' Which implies that you're bad at doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/i-think-the-biggest-backhanded-criticism-compliment-i-get-is-that-i-m/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [All evidence shows that we are actually getting smarter. Roughly we are getting 10 IQ points smarter every decade. The speed of innovation is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/all-evidence-shows-that-we-are-actually-getting-smarter-roughly-we/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [It's legendary how architectural lectures can be incredibly boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/it-s-legendary-how-architectural-lectures-can-be-incredibly-boring/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [I wanted to be a cartoonist, but there was no cartoon academy. So I enrolled in the Royal Danish Art Academy School of Architecture.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/i-wanted-to-be-a-cartoonist-but-there-was-no-cartoon-academy-so-i/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [Maybe our work appeals to some people more than others. But the opportunities that I present to my colleagues are completely uninfluenced by gender,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/maybe-our-work-appeals-to-some-people-more-than-others-but-the/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [My drawing skills probably froze around when I was 18... Now I'm more interested in the story, how the drawings, the layout can help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/my-drawing-skills-probably-froze-around-when-i-was-18-now-i-m-more/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [I think if I would have started BIG in America, I would probably never have called it BIG. There was nothing but a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/i-think-if-i-would-have-started-big-in-america-i-would-probably-never/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [A kid in Minecraft can build a world and inhabit it through play. We have the possibility to build the world that we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/a-kid-in-minecraft-can-build-a-world-and-inhabit-it-through-play-we/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [The one thing all humans share is that we all inhabit the same limited amount of real estate, which is Planet Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/the-one-thing-all-humans-share-is-that-we-all-inhabit-the-same/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [We can engineer a building and design a building with least reliance on active machinery to make it inhabitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/we-can-engineer-a-building-and-design-a-building-with-least-reliance/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) [Explore all 42 Bjarke Ingels quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) ## More Because quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-was-also-known-as-frodo-because-i-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-lord/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [Sometimes, when full and in fear that I will continue to eat unwanted food just because it's staring at me, I will place my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nichols/sometimes-when-full-and-in-fear-that-i-will-continue-to-eat-unwanted/) [Rachel Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nichols/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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I accepted it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-gopi/i-was-contacted-by-rajyavardhan-singh-rathore-mp-through-the-pune/) [Suresh Gopi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-gopi/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) [Browse all 15,485 Because quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our cities are not polluted or congested because they have to be. 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