--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are still an awful lot of…" description: "\"There are still an awful lot of intelligent, clever constructive Americans and they are still doing clever constructive things.\" — Jane Jacobs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04b/jane-jacobs-1991_awful_there-are-still-an-awful-lot-of-intellig_2309994.png" --- # There are still an awful lot of intelligent, clever… ![“There are still an awful lot of intelligent, clever constructive Americans and they are still doing clever constructive things.” quote by Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04b/jane-jacobs-1991_awful_there-are-still-an-awful-lot-of-intellig_2309994.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04b/jane-jacobs-1991_awful_there-are-still-an-awful-lot-of-intellig_2309994.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04b/jane-jacobs-1991_awful_there-are-still-an-awful-lot-of-intellig_2309994.png) > “There are still an awful lot of intelligent, clever constructive Americans and they are still doing clever constructive things.” [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. Intelligent, innovative Americans continue to create beneficial, inventive projects despite challenges. **In simple terms:** Smart Americans keep building useful things. Key Takeaway Recognize and support constructive contributions. Themes innovation community optimism Mood hopeful pragmatic Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - community projects - technology development - education reform Key Concepts urbanism social capital creativity Questions to Reflect On - What constructive efforts inspire you? - How can we amplify these contributions? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic barriers that limit broader participation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Americans Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans-doing-1614217/) [Awful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful/) [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Clever Constructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever-constructive-5483535/) [Constructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constructive/) [Constructive Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constructive-americans-5483534/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Intelligent Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-clever-5483536/) [Lot Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lot-intelligent-301932/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) ## Related quotes > [Well, you have to keep your faith in the fact that there are a lot of intelligent people who are actively looking for something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/well-you-have-to-keep-your-faith-in-the-fact-that-there-are-a-lot-of/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [The Scandis blew the crime genre out of the water and the Americans have been doing interesting things with it for years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-henshall/the-scandis-blew-the-crime-genre-out-of-the-water-and-the-americans/) [Douglas Henshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-henshall/) > [Manufacturers employ more than 14 million Americans doing what Americans do best, making things, building things, transforming raw materials into finished products.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-engler/manufacturers-employ-more-than-14-million-americans-doing-what/) [John Engler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-engler/) > [There is so much good music from our scene in the U.K., and I'm happy I'm part of that movement. For a long time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skepta/there-is-so-much-good-music-from-our-scene-in-the-u-k-and-i-m-happy-i/) [Skepta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skepta/) > [I'm not a wide-eyed imperialist who wants to see Americans manning outposts all over the world. 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She's honest. Sometimes we've had disagreements, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/one-of-the-great-qualities-of-chancellor-merkel-is-that-she-is-steady/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The goal in raising one's child is to enable him, first, to discover who he wants to be, and then to become a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-bettelheim/the-goal-in-raising-one-s-child-is-to-enable-him-first-to-discover/) [Bruno Bettelheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-bettelheim/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Fear is a negative thought in your mind. Supplant it with a constructive thought. Fear has killed millions. Confidence is greater than fear. Nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/fear-is-a-negative-thought-in-your-mind-supplant-it-with-a/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [It is extremely difficult to do anything constructive, let alone deep, on daily commercial television, especially on a talk show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/it-is-extremely-difficult-to-do-anything-constructive-let-alone-deep/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) ## 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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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. 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