--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Public housing projects] are not lacking…" description: "\"“[Public housing projects] are not lacking in natural leaders,' [Ellen Lurie, a social worker in East Harlem] says. 'They contain people with real abil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_public-housing-projects-are-not-lacking_2422878.png" --- # \[Public housing projects\] are not lacking in natural… ![“[Public housing projects] are not lacking in natural leaders,' [Ellen Lurie, a social worker in East Harlem] says. 'They contain people with real ability, wonderful people many of them, but the typical sequence is that in the course of organization leaders have found each other, gotten all…” quote by Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_public-housing-projects-are-not-lacking_2422878.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_public-housing-projects-are-not-lacking_2422878.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_public-housing-projects-are-not-lacking_2422878.png) > ““\[Public housing projects\] are not lacking in natural leaders,' \[Ellen Lurie, a social worker in East Harlem\] says. 'They contain people with real ability, wonderful people many of them, but the typical sequence is that in the course of organization leaders have found each other, gotten all involved in each others' social lives, and have ended up talking to nobody but each other. They have not found their followers. Everything tends to degenerate into ineffective cliques, as a natural course. There is no normal public life. Just the mechanics of people learning what s going on is so difficult. It all makes the simplest social gain extra hard for these people.”” [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. Community leaders often form tight groups, neglecting broader public engagement, leading to ineffective cliques. **In simple terms:** Leaders can become isolated cliques. Key Takeaway Foster inclusive participation beyond close circles. Themes community leadership social dynamics Mood analytical concerned Type observational critical When to use this quote - neighborhood meetings - public forums - community projects Key Concepts urban sociology group behavior Questions to Reflect On - How can you reach beyond existing networks? - What structures encourage wider involvement? A Different Perspective Overcoming entrenched social hierarchies is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Cliques Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliques-natural-6138235/) [Contact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contact/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Ineffective Cliques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ineffective-cliques-6138234/) [Leaders Gotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaders-gotten-6138236/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Natural Leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-leaders-791388/) [Planning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planning/) [Public life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-life/) [Sidewalks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sidewalks/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social Gain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-gain-3647127/) [Social worker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-worker/) [Wonderful people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful-people/) ## Related quotes > [As the feminist saying goes, 'Women deliver.' In other words, when women control resources, the social gain is greater than when men control resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-gordon/as-the-feminist-saying-goes-women-deliver-in-other-words-when-women/) [Linda Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-gordon/) > [“As children get older, this incidental outdoor activity--say, while waiting to be called to eat--becomes less bumptious, physically and entails more loitering with others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/as-children-get-older-this-incidental-outdoor-activity-say-while/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“A city street equipped to handle strangers, and to make a safety asset, in itself, our of the presence of strangers, as the streets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/a-city-street-equipped-to-handle-strangers-and-to-make-a-safety-asset/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Women hold up more than half the sky and represent much of the world's unrealized potential. They are the educators. They raise the children.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/women-hold-up-more-than-half-the-sky-and-represent-much-of-the-world/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [I have always thought that one of the signs of natural leaders of men (and women) was their readiness to take the necessary pains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-lamarsh/i-have-always-thought-that-one-of-the-signs-of-natural-leaders-of-men/) [Judy LaMarsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-lamarsh/) > [In most companies, the formal hierarchy is a matter of public record - it's easy to discover who's in charge of what. By contrast,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/in-most-companies-the-formal-hierarchy-is-a-matter-of-public-record/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [Teams always have natural leaders on the pitch and natural leaders in footballing terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerardo-martino/teams-always-have-natural-leaders-on-the-pitch-and-natural-leaders-in/) [Gerardo Martino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerardo-martino/) > [Women are natural leaders. They are wired to lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-amen/women-are-natural-leaders-they-are-wired-to-lead/) [Daniel Amen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-amen/) > [The political ramifications of our festering financial and economic crisis have reached the sidewalks of New York, as well as other large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-webman/the-political-ramifications-of-our-festering-financial-and-economic/) [Jerry A. Webman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-webman/) > [I had a mother who walked to the library with me, and you can't walk to a lot of libraries in San Antonio because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-had-a-mother-who-walked-to-the-library-with-me-and-you-can-t-walk/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“And on the sidewalks, after they've emerged from the stations, after being sandpapered by the jostling and scraping that a city like this does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dionne-brand/and-on-the-sidewalks-after-they-ve-emerged-from-the-stations-after/) [Dionne Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dionne-brand/) > [“When fall comes to town, lovers, letters, and leaves reunite on the sidewalks, broken, burnt, and brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akash-mandal/when-fall-comes-to-town-lovers-letters-and-leaves-reunite-on-the/) [Akash Mandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akash-mandal/) > [Its 2013. We should have heated sidewalks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-2013-we-should-have-heated-sidewalks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Growing up in New York City, I'd flirted with the idea of driving, but between the subway and the sidewalks, I'd never needed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/growing-up-in-new-york-city-i-d-flirted-with-the-idea-of-driving-but/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [“The sidewalks flash silver with mica. Skyline smeared with geese. By way of recognition I lost the sound of your voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-murphy/the-sidewalks-flash-silver-with-mica-skyline-smeared-with-geese-by/) [Ryan Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-murphy/) ## 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 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“[Public housing projects] are not lacking in natural leaders,' [Ellen Lurie, a social worker in East Harlem] says. 'They contain people with real ability, wonderful people many of them, but the typical sequence is that in the course of organization leaders have found each other, gotten all involved in each others' social lives, and have ended up talking to nobody but each other. They have not found their followers. Everything tends to degenerate into ineffective cliques, as a natural course. There is no normal public life. Just the mechanics of people learning what s going on is so difficult. 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