--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The notion that you could discard the old…" description: "\"The notion that you could discard the old world and now make a new one. This is what was so bad about Modernism.\" — Jane Jacobs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/jane-jacobs-1991_discard_the-notion-that-you-could-discard-the-ol_69643.png" --- # The notion that you could discard the old world and now… ![“The notion that you could discard the old world and now make a new one. This is what was so bad about Modernism.” quote by Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/jane-jacobs-1991_discard_the-notion-that-you-could-discard-the-ol_69643.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/jane-jacobs-1991_discard_the-notion-that-you-could-discard-the-ol_69643.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/jane-jacobs-1991_discard_the-notion-that-you-could-discard-the-ol_69643.png) > “The notion that you could discard the old world and now make a new one. This is what was so bad about Modernism.” [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. Modernism’s zeal to abandon tradition in favor of radical innovation can erase valuable cultural foundations, leading to loss of continuity and community cohesion. **In simple terms:** Modernism’s rejection of the past can be destructive. Key Takeaway Balance progress with heritage. Themes progress vs tradition urban development cultural continuity modernist critique social cohesion Mood reflective critical cautious Type observation critique When to use this quote - city redevelopment projects - architectural redesigns - policy debates on heritage preservation Key Concepts urban planning cultural heritage innovation ethics Practical Applications - guiding urban renewal strategies - informing cultural impact assessments Questions to Reflect On - How can societies innovate without erasing their roots? - What safeguards can protect cultural continuity during rapid change? A Different Perspective While some argue that breaking from the past is essential for advancement, unchecked dismissal can undermine identity and social fabric. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-modernism-919152/) [Discard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discard/) [Discard Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discard-old-919154/) [Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Notion Discard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion-discard-919153/) [Old world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Don't be quick to discard old socks because you receive new ones”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-j-forde/don-t-be-quick-to-discard-old-socks-because-you-receive-new-ones/) [Charmaine J Forde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-j-forde/) > [Modernism really started with people getting infatuated with the idea of "it's the twentieth century, is this suitable for the twentieth century." This happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/modernism-really-started-with-people-getting-infatuated-with-the-idea/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [There is no new world that you make without the old world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/there-is-no-new-world-that-you-make-without-the-old-world/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-not-add-what-is-uniquely-your/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. And if you no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/to-truly-cherish-the-things-that-are-important-to-you-you-must-first/) [Marie Kondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [“Return Gifts: Those cheap things kids almost lynch you for, and then discard on their way out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachna-singh/return-gifts-those-cheap-things-kids-almost-lynch-you-for-and-then/) [Rachna Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachna-singh/) > [You can never discard too many bad ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/you-can-never-discard-too-many-bad-ideas/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [“If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/if-we-could-renounce-our-artful-contrivances-and-discard-our-scheming/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“Sorting papers Rule of thumb—discard everything Once”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/sorting-papers-rule-of-thumb-discard-everything-once/) [Marie Kondō](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [Goethe said there would be little left of him if he were to discard what he owed to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-saunders-cushman/goethe-said-there-would-be-little-left-of-him-if-he-were-to-discard/) [Charlotte Saunders Cushman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-saunders-cushman/) > [Keep only those things that speak to your heart. 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Make the best choices for the best brands and discard the rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/study-whatever-you-were-told-very-carefully-make-the-best-choices-for/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [In science, each new result, sometimes quite surprising, heralds a step forward and allows one to discard some hypotheses, even though one or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-b-prusiner/in-science-each-new-result-sometimes-quite-surprising-heralds-a-step/) [Stanley B. Prusiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-b-prusiner/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [Never underestimate the power of a city to regenerate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/never-underestimate-the-power-of-a-city-to-regenerate/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) [Explore all 193 Jane Jacobs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) ## More Discard quotes > [In science, each new result, sometimes quite surprising, heralds a step forward and allows one to discard some hypotheses, even though one or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-b-prusiner/in-science-each-new-result-sometimes-quite-surprising-heralds-a-step/) [Stanley B. Prusiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-b-prusiner/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Study whatever you were told very carefully. Make the best choices for the best brands and discard the rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/study-whatever-you-were-told-very-carefully-make-the-best-choices-for/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The challenge to Asia is to discard the dry, meatless bone of mysticism and fatalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-marcos/the-challenge-to-asia-is-to-discard-the-dry-meatless-bone-of/) [Ferdinand Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-marcos/) > [Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/keep-only-those-things-that-speak-to-your-heart-then-take-the-plunge/) [Marie Kondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [Goethe said there would be little left of him if he were to discard what he owed to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-saunders-cushman/goethe-said-there-would-be-little-left-of-him-if-he-were-to-discard/) [Charlotte Saunders Cushman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-saunders-cushman/) > [“Sorting papers Rule of thumb—discard everything Once”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/sorting-papers-rule-of-thumb-discard-everything-once/) [Marie Kondō](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [“If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/if-we-could-renounce-our-artful-contrivances-and-discard-our-scheming/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [You can never discard too many bad ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/you-can-never-discard-too-many-bad-ideas/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [“Return Gifts: Those cheap things kids almost lynch you for, and then discard on their way out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachna-singh/return-gifts-those-cheap-things-kids-almost-lynch-you-for-and-then/) [Rachna Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachna-singh/) > [To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. And if you no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/to-truly-cherish-the-things-that-are-important-to-you-you-must-first/) [Marie Kondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-not-add-what-is-uniquely-your/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [We have to discard the past / and, as one builds / floor by floor, window by window, / and the building rises, /…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/we-have-to-discard-the-past-and-as-one-builds-floor-by-floor-window/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [We discard the personal specifics which don't conform to the ideal conventional beauty created by art directors and cinematographers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-loeb/we-discard-the-personal-specifics-which-don-t-conform-to-the-ideal/) [Damian Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-loeb/) > [Don’t be afraid to discard work you know isn’t up to standard. Don’t save junk, just because it took you a long time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eddings/don-t-be-afraid-to-discard-work-you-know-isn-t-up-to-standard-don-t/) [David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddings/) [Browse all 70 Discard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discard/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The notion that you could discard the old world and now make a new one. 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