---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Commuters give the city its tidal…"
description: "\"Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion.\" — E. B. White"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/e-b-white-1448_cities_commuters-give-the-city-its-tidal-restle_1354373.png"
---

#  Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives…

![“Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion.” quote by E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/e-b-white-1448_cities_commuters-give-the-city-its-tidal-restle_1354373.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/e-b-white-1448_cities_commuters-give-the-city-its-tidal-restle_1354373.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/e-b-white-1448_cities_commuters-give-the-city-its-tidal-restle_1354373.png)

> “Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion.”

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Cities are shaped by three groups: commuters who bring energy, natives who provide stability, and settlers who add passion.

**In simple terms:** Different people give a city its rhythm, stability, and fire.

Key Takeaway

Recognize each group's contribution.

Themes

urban life community identity

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

observational interpretive

When to use this quote

- city planning
- community building
- cultural festivals
- neighborhood revitalization
- tourism promotion

Key Concepts

sociology human geography urban dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- How does each group influence your city's character?
- What balance of energy, stability, and passion is ideal?

A Different Perspective

Passion may clash with stability, causing tension.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [Commuters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commuters-1789452/) [Commuters City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commuters-city-3599681/) [Continuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continuity/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [New york city](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york-city/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Restlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restlessness/) [Restlessness Natives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restlessness-natives-4616982/) [Settlers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settlers/) [Settlers Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settlers-passion-4616981/) [Solidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solidity/) [Turbulence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turbulence/)

## Related quotes

> [There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-roughly-three-new-yorks-there-is-first-the-new-york-of-the-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/there-are-roughly-three-new-yorks-there-is-first-the-new-york-of-the/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [Raising the cost of public transit would burden residents who can least afford transportation alternatives and punish commuters who are doing the most to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-wu/raising-the-cost-of-public-transit-would-burden-residents-who-can/)

[Michelle Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-wu/)

> [“London wasn't the first city I'd lived in, but it was certainly the largest. Anywhere else there is always the chance of seeing someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belle-de-jour/london-wasn-t-the-first-city-i-d-lived-in-but-it-was-certainly-the/)

[Belle de Jour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belle-de-jour/)

> [We should not be playing politics with the security and safety of our commuters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikie-sherrill/we-should-not-be-playing-politics-with-the-security-and-safety-of-our/)

[Mikie Sherrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikie-sherrill/)

> [Frustration with the trains is inevitable, given the daily difficulties commuters face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nish-kumar/frustration-with-the-trains-is-inevitable-given-the-daily/)

[Nish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nish-kumar/)

> [In communities all over the country, commuters put up with heavy traffic and aging transit systems because they don't really have a choice. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-capuano/in-communities-all-over-the-country-commuters-put-up-with-heavy/)

[Michael Capuano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-capuano/)

> [I remember getting to New York and riding the subway in the morning to go to a doctor's appointment, and getting jealous of commuters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-yorke/i-remember-getting-to-new-york-and-riding-the-subway-in-the-morning/)

[Helene Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-yorke/)

> [Travellers are just commuters with a wider perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-g-taylor/travellers-are-just-commuters-with-a-wider-perspective/)

[William G. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-g-taylor/)

> [“Rush hour was under way; her car became one more pair of headlights in a glittering daisy chain of commuters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-prescott/rush-hour-was-under-way-her-car-became-one-more-pair-of-headlights-in/)

[Michael Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-prescott/)

> [China needs a table-tennis-like solidity in football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berti-vogts/china-needs-a-table-tennis-like-solidity-in-football/)

[Berti Vogts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berti-vogts/)

> [The earthquake, however, must be to every one a most impressive event: the earth, considered from our earliest childhood as the type of solidity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-earthquake-however-must-be-to-every-one-a-most-impressive-event/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [The strongest thing that any human being has going is their own integrity and their own heart. As soon as you start veering away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/the-strongest-thing-that-any-human-being-has-going-is-their-own/)

[Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/)

> [When a rainbow appears vividly in the sky, you can see its beautiful colors, yet you could not wear as clothing or put it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/when-a-rainbow-appears-vividly-in-the-sky-you-can-see-its-beautiful/)

[Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/)

> [Unconscious of your story, you are in its grasp; but with consciousness, an alchemical process begins: The solidity of the complex dissolves and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-zweig/unconscious-of-your-story-you-are-in-its-grasp-but-with-consciousness/)

[Connie Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-zweig/)

## More by E. B. White

> [Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/writing-is-an-act-of-faith-not-a-trick-of-grammar/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [“To hear, in the short space of one week, a Scottish terrier booed by an audience and President Roosevelt criticized by Charles Lindbergh was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/to-hear-in-the-short-space-of-one-week-a-scottish-terrier-booed-by-an/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [The sea answers all questions, and always in the same way; for when you read in the papers the interminable discussions and the bickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-sea-answers-all-questions-and-always-in-the-same-way-for-when-you/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [New York blends the gift of privacy with the excitement of participation; and better than most dense communities it succeeds in insulating the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/new-york-blends-the-gift-of-privacy-with-the-excitement-of/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [The terror of the atom age is not the violence of the new power but the speed of man's adjustment to it, the speed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-terror-of-the-atom-age-is-not-the-violence-of-the-new-power-but/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [When my wife's Aunt Caroline was in her nineties, she lived with us, and she once remarked: 'Remembrance is sufficient of the beauty we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/when-my-wife-s-aunt-caroline-was-in-her-nineties-she-lived-with-us/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/sailors-have-an-expression-about-the-weather-they-say-the-weather-is/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/anyone-who-writes-down-to-children-is-simply-wasting-his-time-you/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and unlimbers his typewriter. ... A writer has the duty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-writer-should-concern-himself-with-whatever-absorbs-his-fancy-stirs/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/every-morning-i-awake-torn-between-a-desire-to-save-the-world-and-an/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [I seldom went to bed before two or three o'clock in the morning, on the theory that if anything of interest were to happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/i-seldom-went-to-bed-before-two-or-three-o-clock-in-the-morning-on/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [Necessity first mothered invention. Now invention has little ones of her own, and they look just like grandma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/necessity-first-mothered-invention-now-invention-has-little-ones-of/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [The bonus is really one of the great give-aways in business enterprise. It is the annual salve applied to the conscience of the rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-bonus-is-really-one-of-the-great-give-aways-in-business/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [There's no limit to how complicated things can get, on account of one thing always leading to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/there-s-no-limit-to-how-complicated-things-can-get-on-account-of-one/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

> [The critic leaves at curtain fall To find, in starting to review it, He scarcely saw the play at all For starting to review…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-critic-leaves-at-curtain-fall-to-find-in-starting-to-review-it-he/)

[E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

[Explore all 240 E. B. White quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/)

## More Cities quotes

> [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/)

[Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/)

> [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/)

[Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/)

> [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/)

[Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/)

> [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/)

[James Cross Giblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cross-giblin/)

> [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/)

[Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/)

> [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/)

[Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/)

> [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/)

[Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/)

> [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/)

[John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/)

> [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/)

[Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/)

> [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/)

[Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/)

> [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/)

[Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/)

> [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/)

[Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/)

> [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

[Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "E. B. White"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/commuters-give-the-city-its-tidal-restlessness-natives-give-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cities"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/commuters-give-the-city-its-tidal-restlessness-natives-give-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/e-b-white-1448_cities_commuters-give-the-city-its-tidal-restle_1354373.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/e-b-white-1448_cities_commuters-give-the-city-its-tidal-restle_1354373.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec8/e-b-white-1448_cities_commuters-give-the-city-its-tidal-restle_1354373.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers…” — E. B. White",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "E. B. White",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Commuters give the city its tidal...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/commuters-give-the-city-its-tidal-restlessness-natives-give-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/commuters-give-the-city-its-tidal-restlessness-natives-give-it/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
