--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never underestimate the power of a city…" description: "\"Never underestimate the power of a city to regenerate.\" — Jane Jacobs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city_235589.png" --- # Never underestimate the power of a city to regenerate. ![“Never underestimate the power of a city to regenerate.” quote by Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city_235589.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city_235589.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city_235589.png) > “Never underestimate the power of a city to regenerate.” [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 possess an inherent ability to revitalize themselves through community and design. **In simple terms:** Cities can regenerate themselves. Key Takeaway Invest in community-driven urban planning. Themes urban planning community regeneration Mood optimistic analytical Type urban studies policy When to use this quote - neighborhood revitalization - public transit upgrades - housing policies Key Concepts social capital public spaces economic development Questions to Reflect On - What policies best support urban renewal? - How can residents influence regeneration? A Different Perspective Regeneration can be uneven. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [Never underestimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-underestimate/) ## Related quotes > [The point is, stories can be all lengths. Never underestimate the power of “less is more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/the-point-is-stories-can-be-all-lengths-never-underestimate-the-power/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Never underestimate the power of bad ideas. They must be refuted again and again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/llewellyn-rockwell/never-underestimate-the-power-of-bad-ideas-they-must-be-refuted-again/) [Llewellyn Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/llewellyn-rockwell/) > [One thing you can never underestimate is the power of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-teti/one-thing-you-can-never-underestimate-is-the-power-of-water/) [Joe Teti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-teti/) > [You must never underestimate the power of the eyebrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-black/you-must-never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-eyebrow/) [Jack Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-black/) > [I think that celebrities should never underestimate their power. I mean just to draw attention, because then people get involved on a personal level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-gibson/i-think-that-celebrities-should-never-underestimate-their-power-i/) [Debbie Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-gibson/) > [You must never underestimate the power of your righteous influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-s-dalton/you-must-never-underestimate-the-power-of-your-righteous-influence/) [Elaine S. Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-s-dalton/) > [ \[Never underestimate\] the power of dinner. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/never-underestimate-the-power-of-dinner/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) > [Never underestimate the power of dramatic lips.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mercier/never-underestimate-the-power-of-dramatic-lips/) [Laura Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mercier/) > [Never underestimate the power of a simple tool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-simple-tool/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never underestimate the power of sitting quietly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdermitt/never-underestimate-the-power-of-sitting-quietly/) [Josh McDermitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdermitt/) > [Never underestimate the power of anyone's story... anyone's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-johnson/never-underestimate-the-power-of-anyone-s-story-anyone-s-life/) [Abby Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-johnson/) > [“Mom may be able to power a city, but Dad barely stays lit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/mom-may-be-able-to-power-a-city-but-dad-barely-stays-lit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“We could power a city with this energy, but it'd be a waste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-beckman/we-could-power-a-city-with-this-energy-but-it-d-be-a-waste/) [Joshua Beckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-beckman/) > [I never underestimate the power of the American people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-gaetz/i-never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-american-people/) [Matt Gaetz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-gaetz/) > [Never underestimate the power of the ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-ocean/) [Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/) ## 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. 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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 Cities quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) James Cross Giblin > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never underestimate the power of a city to regenerate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Jacobs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city-to-regenerate/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city-to-regenerate/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city_235589.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city_235589.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city_235589.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never underestimate the power of a city to regenerate.” — 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": "Never underestimate the power of a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city-to-regenerate/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city-to-regenerate/#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 } } ] } ```