--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poverty blights whole cities; spreads…" description: "\"Poverty blights whole cities; spreads horrible pestilences; strikes dead the very souls of all who come within sight, sound, or smell of it\" — George B..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/george-bernard-shaw-68_blight_poverty-blights-whole-cities-spreads-hor_1978224.png" --- # Poverty blights whole cities; spreads horrible… ![“Poverty blights whole cities; spreads horrible pestilences; strikes dead the very souls of all who come within sight, sound, or smell of it” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/george-bernard-shaw-68_blight_poverty-blights-whole-cities-spreads-hor_1978224.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/george-bernard-shaw-68_blight_poverty-blights-whole-cities-spreads-hor_1978224.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/george-bernard-shaw-68_blight_poverty-blights-whole-cities-spreads-hor_1978224.png) > “Poverty blights whole cities; spreads horrible pestilences; strikes dead the very souls of all who come within sight, sound, or smell of it” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poverty corrupts entire communities, spreading disease and killing hope for anyone nearby. **In simple terms:** Poverty destroys cities and kills hope. Key Takeaway Address poverty to protect communities. Themes poverty urban decay health social injustice community collapse Mood somber urgent Type social political When to use this quote - urban planning - public health policy - community outreach - social services - education programs Key Concepts economic inequality public health social decay Questions to Reflect On - How does poverty affect the health of a city? - What policies can reverse its spread? A Different Perspective Poverty is often a symptom of deeper systemic failures, not just individual lack. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blight/) [Blights Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blights-cities-3363009/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Horrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrible/) [Horrible Pestilences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrible-pestilences-832650/) [Pestilence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pestilence/) [Pestilences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pestilences-1587646/) [Pestilences Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pestilences-strikes-3363010/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Poverty Blights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-blights-3363008/) [Sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sight/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Spread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spread/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [A study of Disease-of Pestilences methodically prepared and deliberately launched upon man and beast-is certainly being pursue in the laboratories of more than one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/a-study-of-disease-of-pestilences-methodically-prepared-and/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“But now the rest of the adjoining cotters rose in a body, and insisted on turning me out. 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R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [Humans have grown like a cancer. We're the biggest blight on the face of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/humans-have-grown-like-a-cancer-we-re-the-biggest-blight-on-the-face/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [“John Mitchel’s famous declaration that God sent the blight but the English created the Famine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-pat-coogan/john-mitchel-s-famous-declaration-that-god-sent-the-blight-but-the/) [Tim Pat Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-pat-coogan/) > [Are some free fonts a gift to humanity rather than a blight on typographic civilization ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-lupton/are-some-free-fonts-a-gift-to-humanity-rather-than-a-blight-on/) [Ellen Lupton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-lupton/) > [These monster cities we live in today are blights of modern society. 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