---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: City diversity represents accident and…"
description: "\"City diversity represents accident and chaos.\" — Jane Jacobs"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/jane-jacobs-1991_accidents_city-diversity-represents-accident-and-c_2728413.png"
---

#  City diversity represents accident and chaos.

![“City diversity represents accident and chaos.” quote by Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/jane-jacobs-1991_accidents_city-diversity-represents-accident-and-c_2728413.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/jane-jacobs-1991_accidents_city-diversity-represents-accident-and-c_2728413.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/jane-jacobs-1991_accidents_city-diversity-represents-accident-and-c_2728413.png)

> “City diversity represents accident and chaos.”

[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.

Urban diversity creates unpredictable, chaotic environments that foster vibrant city life.

**In simple terms:** Diversity brings chaos and vitality.

Key Takeaway

Embrace urban diversity for dynamic cities.

Themes

urban planning diversity city dynamics

Mood

critical optimistic

Type

urban theoretical

When to use this quote

- city development
- community events
- public spaces

Key Concepts

sociology architecture

Questions to Reflect On

- How can planners balance chaos with order?
- What policies nurture healthy diversity?

A Different Perspective

Chaos can lead to disorder and inequality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [Diversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diversity/)

## Related quotes

> [“most city diversity is the creation of incredible numbers of different people and different private organizations, with vastly differing ideas and purposes, planning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/most-city-diversity-is-the-creation-of-incredible-numbers-of/)

[Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/)

> [I've spent most of my life in L.A. and I'm still amazed at things that I don't know about the place. There are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/i-ve-spent-most-of-my-life-in-l-a-and-i-m-still-amazed-at-things-that/)

[Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/)

> [“There are fashions in building. 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/)

> [Everyone is aware that tremendous numbers of people concentrate in city downtowns and that, if they did not, there would be no downtown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/everyone-is-aware-that-tremendous-numbers-of-people-concentrate-in/)

[Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/)

> [Pluralist societies are not accidents of history. They are a product of enlightened education and continuous investment by governments and all of civil society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aga-khan-iv/pluralist-societies-are-not-accidents-of-history-they-are-a-product/)

[Aga Khan IV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aga-khan-iv/)

> [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/)

[Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/)

> [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/)

[Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/)

> [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/)

[Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/)

> [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/)

[Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/)

> [Good films are not made by accident, nor is good photography. You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/)

[Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/)

> [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/)

[John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/)

> [No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/no-i-think-most-astronauts-recognize-that-the-space-shuttle-program/)

[Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/)

> [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/)

[Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/)

> [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/)

[Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/)

## 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 Accidents quotes

> [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/)

[Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/)

> [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/)

[Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/)

> [No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/no-i-think-most-astronauts-recognize-that-the-space-shuttle-program/)

[Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/)

> [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/)

[John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/)

> [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [Good films are not made by accident, nor is good photography. You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/)

[Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/)

> [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/)

[Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/)

> [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/)

[Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/)

> [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/)

[Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/)

> [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/)

[Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/)

> [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/)

[Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/)

> [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/)

[Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/)

> [Dont stand outside in a lightning shower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padraig/dont-stand-outside-in-a-lightning-shower/)

[Padraig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padraig/)

> [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/)

[Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/)

> [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/)

[Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/)

[Browse all 1,971 Accidents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "City diversity represents accident and chaos.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jane Jacobs"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/city-diversity-represents-accident-and-chaos/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accidents"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/city-diversity-represents-accident-and-chaos/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/jane-jacobs-1991_accidents_city-diversity-represents-accident-and-c_2728413.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/jane-jacobs-1991_accidents_city-diversity-represents-accident-and-c_2728413.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/jane-jacobs-1991_accidents_city-diversity-represents-accident-and-c_2728413.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“City diversity represents accident and chaos.” — 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": "City diversity represents accident and chaos.",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/city-diversity-represents-accident-and-chaos/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/city-diversity-represents-accident-and-chaos/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
