Beauty Quote by Ilka Chase
“That is what is so marvelous about Europe; the people long ago learned that space and beauty and quiet refuges in a great city, where children may play and old people sit in the sun, are of far more value to the inhabitants than real estate taxes and contractors' greed.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The New Yorker, “The Value of Space” 1968
Urban spaces that foster community and tranquility are more valuable than profit‑driven development.
In simple terms: Community spaces outweigh real‑estate greed.
Key Takeaway
Prioritize shared, peaceful places.
Themes
community
urban planning
beauty
social value
Mood
hopeful
critical
Type
social
urban
When to use this quote
- city zoning
- neighborhood design
- cultural preservation
Key Concepts
public space
human scale
quality of life
Questions to Reflect On
- How can citizens protect communal spaces?
- What trade‑offs are acceptable?
A Different Perspective
Profit motives often dominate policy decisions.
![“[The right] may never bring prayer back to schools, but it has rescued all manner of rightwing economic nostrums from history's dustbins. Having rolled back the landmark economic reforms of the sixties (the war on poverty) and those of the thirties (labor law, agricultural price supports, banking…” quote by Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/63d/thomas-frank-4078_accomplishment_the-right-may-never-bring-prayer-back-to_3061293.jpg)
