--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A border--the perimeter of a single…" description: "\"“A border--the perimeter of a single massive or stretched-out use of territory--forms the edge of an area of 'ordinary' city. Often borders are thought..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/jane-jacobs-1991_257_a-border-the-perimeter-of-a-single-massi_1400530.png" --- # A border--the perimeter of a single massive or… ![“A border--the perimeter of a single massive or stretched-out use of territory--forms the edge of an area of 'ordinary' city. Often borders are thought of as passive objects, or matter-of-factly just as edges. However, a border exerts an active influence.” quote by Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/jane-jacobs-1991_257_a-border-the-perimeter-of-a-single-massi_1400530.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/jane-jacobs-1991_257_a-border-the-perimeter-of-a-single-massi_1400530.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/jane-jacobs-1991_257_a-border-the-perimeter-of-a-single-massi_1400530.png) > ““A border--the perimeter of a single massive or stretched-out use of territory--forms the edge of an area of 'ordinary' city. Often borders are thought of as passive objects, or matter-of-factly just as edges. However, a border exerts an active influence.”” [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Borders shape how we perceive and interact with urban spaces, influencing social dynamics and city life. **In simple terms:** Borders affect city life and social interaction. Key Takeaway Recognize how boundaries shape community experiences. Themes urban planning social geography community space identity Mood thoughtful analytical critical Type sociological urban reflective When to use this quote - city design - neighborhood development - public policy - community building - social research Key Concepts boundary theory urban sociology spatial politics Questions to Reflect On - How do physical or social borders affect your daily life? - What can be done to make borders more inclusive? A Different Perspective Borders can also limit freedom and create segregation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [257](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-257-713/) [Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) [Areas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/areas/) [Border](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/border/) [Border Perimeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/border-perimeter-4906212/) [Borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City Borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-borders-4906213/) [Edges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edges/) [Edges Border](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edges-border-4906214/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Massive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/massive/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Passive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passive/) [Perimeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perimeter/) [Territory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/territory/) [Urban planning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urban-planning/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [“Human nature is not taken into account, it is excluded, it's not supposed to exist! They don't recognise that humanity, developing by a historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/human-nature-is-not-taken-into-account-it-is-excluded-it-s-not/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [I opposed annexing in areas around our city borders, because I knew that if neighborhoods wanted to be a part of the city, well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/i-opposed-annexing-in-areas-around-our-city-borders-because-i-knew/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [...frequent streets and short blocks are valuable because of the fabric of intricate cross-use that they permit among the users of a city neighbouhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/frequent-streets-and-short-blocks-are-valuable-because-of-the-fabric/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“Probably the most important element in intricacy is centering. 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Behind the fashions lie economic and technological reasons, and these fashions exclude all but a few genuinely different possibilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/there-are-fashions-in-building-behind-the-fashions-lie-economic-and/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [You build a perimeter of people that are really important to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/you-build-a-perimeter-of-people-that-are-really-important-to-you/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [Any time you add something to your game, you still have to find ways to improve, so I'm still studying the game and trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-griffin/any-time-you-add-something-to-your-game-you-still-have-to-find-ways/) [Blake Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-griffin/) > [The perimeter of the earth is about 3,000,000 stadia and not greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archimedes/the-perimeter-of-the-earth-is-about-3-000-000-stadia-and-not-greater/) [Archimedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archimedes/) > [I used to just be a shooter on the perimeter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-bagley-iii/i-used-to-just-be-a-shooter-on-the-perimeter/) [Marvin Bagley III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-bagley-iii/) > [I want to preserve a certain unknowing about my own poems - perhaps because unknowing is in itself a useful poetic thirst. To move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-want-to-preserve-a-certain-unknowing-about-my-own-poems-perhaps/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Those who ran away are now outside the distant perimeter wall of the airport. Now they're outside the wall and the heroic Republican Guard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/those-who-ran-away-are-now-outside-the-distant-perimeter-wall-of-the/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [“Define the perimeter of your life. Set it beyond the realm of possibility. Then from there begin to paint in between the lines. Use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-blatter/define-the-perimeter-of-your-life-set-it-beyond-the-realm-of/) [Josh Blatter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-blatter/) > [“In my mind, I could sense their roots under the soil, creeping in helical tangles of ever-increasing complexity outward and in all directions—out beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/in-my-mind-i-could-sense-their-roots-under-the-soil-creeping-in/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [By constantly moving the flashlight of your attention to the perimeter of your understanding, you enlarge your sense of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-pariser/by-constantly-moving-the-flashlight-of-your-attention-to-the/) [Eli Pariser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-pariser/) ## More by Jane Jacobs > [People who try to predict the future by extrapolating in a line of more of what exists - they are always wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/people-who-try-to-predict-the-future-by-extrapolating-in-a-line-of/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [My mother used to say when we were children, 'When a boy gets a stick in his hand, his brains run out the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/my-mother-used-to-say-when-we-were-children-when-a-boy-gets-a-stick/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Design is people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/design-is-people/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [To approach a city, or even a city neighborhood, as if it were a larger architectural problem, capable of being given order by converting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/to-approach-a-city-or-even-a-city-neighborhood-as-if-it-were-a-larger/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them… for really new ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/cities-need-old-buildings-so-badly-it-is-probably-impossible-for/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [The notion that you could discard the old world and now make a new one. 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Not knowing this, governments, their development and aid agencies, the World…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/development-isn-t-a-collection-of-things-but-rather-a-process-that/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“Most sentimental ideas imply, at bottom, a deep if unacknowledged disrespect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/most-sentimental-ideas-imply-at-bottom-a-deep-if-unacknowledged/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Beneficent spirals, operating by benign feedback, mean that everything needful is not required at once: each individual improvement is beneficial for the whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/beneficent-spirals-operating-by-benign-feedback-mean-that-everything/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Automobiles are often conveniently tagged as the villains responsible for the ills of cities and the disappointments and futilities of city planning. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/automobiles-are-often-conveniently-tagged-as-the-villains-responsible/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“I tis hopeless to try to convert some borders into seams. Expressways and their ramps are examples. Moreover, even in the case of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/i-tis-hopeless-to-try-to-convert-some-borders-into-seams-expressways/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“Probably the most important element in intricacy is centering. Good small parks typically have a place somewhere within them commonly understood to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/probably-the-most-important-element-in-intricacy-is-centering-good/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Throughout the world Dark Ages have scrawled finis to successions of cultures receding far into the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/throughout-the-world-dark-ages-have-scrawled-finis-to-successions-of/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“Privacy is precious in cities. It is indispensable. Perhaps it is precious and indispensable everywhere, but in most places you cannot get it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/privacy-is-precious-in-cities-it-is-indispensable-perhaps-it-is/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) [Explore all 193 Jane Jacobs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) ## More 257 quotes > [“Human nature is not taken into account, it is excluded, it's not supposed to exist! They don't recognise that humanity, developing by a historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/human-nature-is-not-taken-into-account-it-is-excluded-it-s-not/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) [Browse all 2 257 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-257-713/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A border--the perimeter of a single massive or stretched-out use of territory--forms the edge of an area of 'ordinary' city. 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