--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first fundamental of successful city…" description: "\"The first fundamental of successful city life: People must take a modicum of responsibility for each other even if they have no ties to each other. Thi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_the-first-fundamental-of-successful-city_801186.jpg" --- # The first fundamental of successful city life: People must… ![“The first fundamental of successful city life: People must take a modicum of responsibility for each other even if they have no ties to each other. This is a lesson no one learns by being told. It is learned from the experience of having other people without ties of kinship or close friendship or…” quote by Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_the-first-fundamental-of-successful-city_801186.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_the-first-fundamental-of-successful-city_801186.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/jane-jacobs-1991_cities_the-first-fundamental-of-successful-city_801186.jpg) > “The first fundamental of successful city life: People must take a modicum of responsibility for each other even if they have no ties to each other. This is a lesson no one learns by being told. It is learned from the experience of having other people without ties of kinship or close friendship or formal responsibility to you take a modicum of responsibility for you.” [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 residents should voluntarily help each other despite lacking formal ties, fostering communal responsibility and social cohesion. **In simple terms:** Take responsibility for neighbors. Key Takeaway Act responsibly toward strangers in community. Themes community responsibility urban life social cohesion citizenship Mood concerned optimistic thoughtful Type civic philosophical When to use this quote - neighborhood watch - public spaces - local governance - emergency response - community events Key Concepts Social capital collective responsibility urban sociology Questions to Reflect On - What small actions can you take to support a stranger today? - How does shared responsibility improve city life? A Different Perspective People may resist informal obligations; cultural differences affect willingness to help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-life/) [Close Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-friend/) [Close friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-friends/) [Close friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-friendship/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Kinship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinship/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Ties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ties/) ## Related quotes > [People must take a modicum of public responsibility for each other even if they have no ties to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/people-must-take-a-modicum-of-public-responsibility-for-each-other/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [But look what we have built ... 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You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bergmann/an-english-comedian-once-explained-the-popularity-of-umlauts-among/) David Bergmann ## 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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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. 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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": "The first fundamental of successful city life: People must take a modicum of responsibility for each other even if they have no ties to each other. This is a lesson no one learns by being told. 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