--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cities have the capability of providing…" description: "\"Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.\" — Jane Jacobs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/jane-jacobs-1991_architect_cities-have-the-capability-of-providing_730066.png" --- # Cities have the capability of providing something for… ![“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” quote by Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/jane-jacobs-1991_architect_cities-have-the-capability-of-providing_730066.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/jane-jacobs-1991_architect_cities-have-the-capability-of-providing_730066.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/jane-jacobs-1991_architect_cities-have-the-capability-of-providing_730066.png) > “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” [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. Cities thrive when all residents participate in shaping them, ensuring diverse needs are met. **In simple terms:** Inclusive design benefits everyone. Key Takeaway Engage community in urban planning. Themes urbanism community inclusion participation diversity Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - neighborhood revitalization - housing projects - public park design - local governance Key Concepts social equity collective ownership public space Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure all groups are heard? - What barriers prevent inclusive participation? A Different Perspective Top-down planning often ignores marginalized voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architect/) [Capability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capability/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Cities Capability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities-capability-3459544/) [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [Created Everybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/created-everybody-5042102/) [Everybody Created](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everybody-created-5510414/) [Providing Everybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/providing-everybody-1089016/) ## Related quotes > [“The truth is, we each of us have an inborn conviction that the whole world with everybody and everything in it, was created as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/the-truth-is-we-each-of-us-have-an-inborn-conviction-that-the-whole/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [“Cities have the capability to at any moment shift out of the familiar, even if you've lived in one all your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-milford/cities-have-the-capability-to-at-any-moment-shift-out-of-the-familiar/) [Kate Milford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-milford/) > [God created Everybody's perfect soulmate, if the one in your life doesn't love everything about being you, that means you haven't met yours yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaze-olamiday/god-created-everybody-s-perfect-soulmate-if-the-one-in-your-life/) [Blaze Olamiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaze-olamiday/) > [But we can also take the radical view that the test of an economy has to do with the extent to which it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-korten/but-we-can-also-take-the-radical-view-that-the-test-of-an-economy-has/) [David Korten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-korten/) > [ \[I\]f we could have devised an arrangement for providing everybody with music in their homes, perfect in quality, unlimited in quantity, suited to every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bellamy/i-f-we-could-have-devised-an-arrangement-for-providing-everybody-with/) [Edward Bellamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bellamy/) > [My husband was a hospital architect and he was working on some hospitals in Alberta, and I told him to try to find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/my-husband-was-a-hospital-architect-and-he-was-working-on-some/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Yes, Garnett Grey was an Architect. Were a psychoanalyst to approach him from behind, tap his shoulder, and say 'Humanity,' Garrett'd spin and respond,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-kidd/yes-garnett-grey-was-an-architect-were-a-psychoanalyst-to-approach/) [Chip Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-kidd/) > [The pursuit of peace resembles the building of a great cathedral. It is the work of a generation. In concept it requires a mater-architect;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/the-pursuit-of-peace-resembles-the-building-of-a-great-cathedral-it/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-architect-is-very-interesting-because-the-architect-is-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I was the chairman of the Budget Committee and the lead architect the last time it happened in Washington, and when we did it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/i-was-the-chairman-of-the-budget-committee-and-the-lead-architect-the/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) > [Architects mostly work for privileged people, people who have money and power, Power and money are invisible, so people hire us to visualize their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeru-ban/architects-mostly-work-for-privileged-people-people-who-have-money/) [Shigeru Ban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeru-ban/) > [When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-it-comes-to-getting-things-done-we-need-fewer-architects-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [When I am asked what I believe in, I say that I believe in architecture. Architecture is the mother of the arts. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/when-i-am-asked-what-i-believe-in-i-say-that-i-believe-in/) [Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/) ## 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. This is what was so bad about Modernism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/the-notion-that-you-could-discard-the-old-world-and-now-make-a-new/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Cities are an immense laboratory of trial and error, failure and success, in city building and city design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/cities-are-an-immense-laboratory-of-trial-and-error-failure-and/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“Development isn't a collection of things but rather a process that yields things. 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 Architect quotes > [When I am asked what I believe in, I say that I believe in architecture. Architecture is the mother of the arts. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/when-i-am-asked-what-i-believe-in-i-say-that-i-believe-in/) [Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-it-comes-to-getting-things-done-we-need-fewer-architects-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Architects mostly work for privileged people, people who have money and power, Power and money are invisible, so people hire us to visualize their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeru-ban/architects-mostly-work-for-privileged-people-people-who-have-money/) [Shigeru Ban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeru-ban/) > [I was the chairman of the Budget Committee and the lead architect the last time it happened in Washington, and when we did it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/i-was-the-chairman-of-the-budget-committee-and-the-lead-architect-the/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) > [The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-architect-is-very-interesting-because-the-architect-is-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [The pursuit of peace resembles the building of a great cathedral. It is the work of a generation. In concept it requires a mater-architect;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/the-pursuit-of-peace-resembles-the-building-of-a-great-cathedral-it/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [Yes, Garnett Grey was an Architect. Were a psychoanalyst to approach him from behind, tap his shoulder, and say 'Humanity,' Garrett'd spin and respond,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-kidd/yes-garnett-grey-was-an-architect-were-a-psychoanalyst-to-approach/) [Chip Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-kidd/) > [The challenge of today's generation of architects is the environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-ross-barney/the-challenge-of-today-s-generation-of-architects-is-the-environment/) [Carol Ross Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-ross-barney/) > [I stand on this rostrum with a sense of deep humility and great pride - humility in the weight of those great American architects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-stand-on-this-rostrum-with-a-sense-of-deep-humility-and-great-pride/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [Architects in the past have tended to concentrate their attention on the building as a static object. I believe dynamics are more important: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/architects-in-the-past-have-tended-to-concentrate-their-attention-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was the chairman of the House Budget Committee and one of the chief architects the last time we balanced a budget, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/i-was-the-chairman-of-the-house-budget-committee-and-one-of-the-chief/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) > [No matter what an architect may be at home, he becomes a monumentalist when he comes to Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/no-matter-what-an-architect-may-be-at-home-he-becomes-a-monumentalist/) [Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/) > [As an architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-foster/as-an-architect-you-design-for-the-present-with-an-awareness-of-the/) [Norman Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-foster/) [Browse all 836 Architect quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architect/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Jacobs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/cities-have-the-capability-of-providing-something-for-everybody-only/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Architect" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/cities-have-the-capability-of-providing-something-for-everybody-only/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/jane-jacobs-1991_architect_cities-have-the-capability-of-providing_730066.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/jane-jacobs-1991_architect_cities-have-the-capability-of-providing_730066.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/jane-jacobs-1991_architect_cities-have-the-capability-of-providing_730066.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are…” — Jane Jacobs", "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": "Jane Jacobs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Cities have the capability of providing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/cities-have-the-capability-of-providing-something-for-everybody-only/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/cities-have-the-capability-of-providing-something-for-everybody-only/#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 } } ] } ```