--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't rely on bringing people…" description: "\"You can't rely on bringing people downtown, you have to put them there.\" — Jane Jacobs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/jane-jacobs-1991_bringing_you-can-t-rely-on-bringing-people-downto_2300388.png" --- # You can't rely on bringing people downtown, you have to… ![“You can't rely on bringing people downtown, you have to put them there.” quote by Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/jane-jacobs-1991_bringing_you-can-t-rely-on-bringing-people-downto_2300388.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/jane-jacobs-1991_bringing_you-can-t-rely-on-bringing-people-downto_2300388.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/jane-jacobs-1991_bringing_you-can-t-rely-on-bringing-people-downto_2300388.png) > “You can't rely on bringing people downtown, you have to put them there.” [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 vitality requires intentional design; you must actively create spaces where people gather, not just hope they will. **In simple terms:** Design places for people, don’t wait for them. Key Takeaway Plan active, inviting public spaces. Themes urban planning community design public space social interaction Mood pragmatic optimistic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - city development - neighborhood revitalization - event planning - public policy Key Concepts sociology human-centered design placemaking Questions to Reflect On - How can you influence local planners? - What small steps can you take now? A Different Perspective Resources and political will may resist proactive planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bringing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bringing/) [Bringing People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bringing-people-614602/) [Downtown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/downtown/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Downtown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-downtown-5436589/) [Rely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rely/) [Rely Bringing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rely-bringing-5436590/) ## Related quotes > [Diplomacy is fundamentally working with people, bringing people together to deal with difficult issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-roos/diplomacy-is-fundamentally-working-with-people-bringing-people/) [John Roos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-roos/) > [I love bringing people together. I think that the environment is so important in terms of what kind of relationships you might be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiree-rogers/i-love-bringing-people-together-i-think-that-the-environment-is-so/) [Desiree Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiree-rogers/) > [I'm quite good at bringing people together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/i-m-quite-good-at-bringing-people-together/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [But bringing people together is what music has always done best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/but-bringing-people-together-is-what-music-has-always-done-best/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [I was bringing the whole music, hip-hop, art, break dancing and urban cultural thing to the downtown table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fab-five-freddy/i-was-bringing-the-whole-music-hip-hop-art-break-dancing-and-urban/) [Fab Five Freddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fab-five-freddy/) > [Expanding the Toronto Island Airport will undermine the downtown's economy and liveability and intensify pollution and smog from Oshawa to Oakville. I urge Torontonians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/expanding-the-toronto-island-airport-will-undermine-the-downtown-s/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [The notion - and I tell you this one even worries me that it extends into New Urbanism - the notion of the shopping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/the-notion-and-i-tell-you-this-one-even-worries-me-that-it-extends/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [I have been dwelling upon downtowns. This is not because mixtures of primary uses are unneeded elsewhere in cities. On the contrary they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/i-have-been-dwelling-upon-downtowns-this-is-not-because-mixtures-of/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Everyone is aware that tremendous numbers of people concentrate in city downtowns and that, if they did not, there would be no downtown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/everyone-is-aware-that-tremendous-numbers-of-people-concentrate-in/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“It was foolish, it was wrong, to take so active a part in bringing any two people together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-was-foolish-it-was-wrong-to-take-so-active-a-part-in-bringing-any/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [As musicians, we have one of the greatest tools of bringing people together in music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamasi-washington/as-musicians-we-have-one-of-the-greatest-tools-of-bringing-people/) [Kamasi Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamasi-washington/) > [The thing that's great about singing together is it's a great way of bringing people together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mack-wilberg/the-thing-that-s-great-about-singing-together-is-it-s-a-great-way-of/) [Mack Wilberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mack-wilberg/) > [“I love books. I really, really love them. There's something special about bringing people and books together”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-truman/i-love-books-i-really-really-love-them-there-s-something-special/) [Margaret Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-truman/) > [I love to make people dance; it's a way of bringing people together regardless of religion, nationality, sexuality, belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guetta/i-love-to-make-people-dance-it-s-a-way-of-bringing-people-together/) [David Guetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guetta/) > [I want to be a part of bringing people together and sharing that love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetrius-shipp-jr/i-want-to-be-a-part-of-bringing-people-together-and-sharing-that-love/) [Demetrius Shipp, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetrius-shipp-jr/) ## 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 Bringing quotes > [They have to exist or not in their own right. I mean, with kids, you don't say, 'Which is your favourite,' or 'Which did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-finney/they-have-to-exist-or-not-in-their-own-right-i-mean-with-kids-you-don/) [Albert Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-finney/) > [It's true, I'm the youngest, highest-grossing French director. I have a few records, but no one knows or simply doesn't care. That's good, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-leterrier/it-s-true-i-m-the-youngest-highest-grossing-french-director-i-have-a/) [Louis Leterrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-leterrier/) > [If the audience is bringing it, it always goes up 10 notches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kanal/if-the-audience-is-bringing-it-it-always-goes-up-10-notches/) [Tony Kanal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kanal/) > [Pro-lifers have long been castigated for bringing private values into the public square. But actually it is the pro-abortion position that is based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/pro-lifers-have-long-been-castigated-for-bringing-private-values-into/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [ABC Family is really restructuring their network because there's a new kind of family, so I think they're really trying to step away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-dallas/abc-family-is-really-restructuring-their-network-because-there-s-a/) [Matt Dallas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-dallas/) > [The war being fought in Afghanistan and Iraq is bringing about a fundamental change to the environment that has given rise and power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-l-thomas/the-war-being-fought-in-afghanistan-and-iraq-is-bringing-about-a/) [Craig L. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-l-thomas/) > [When Gingrich attacked CNN's John King for bringing up his alleged proposal of an open marriage to his second wife, Gingrich accused him of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/when-gingrich-attacked-cnn-s-john-king-for-bringing-up-his-alleged/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [I think it was always there and it was maybe a matter of bringing it out. It was harder than I thought it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-lafleur/i-think-it-was-always-there-and-it-was-maybe-a-matter-of-bringing-it/) [Guy Lafleur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-lafleur/) > [If a director brings a guy to their movie who does improv, they've got to let him do what he does - otherwise it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-smoove/if-a-director-brings-a-guy-to-their-movie-who-does-improv-they-ve-got/) [J. B. Smoove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-smoove/) > [Anytime you have a difficult encounter with your child, there is a good chance that at least one of these factors is bringing out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-rindner-tempelsman/anytime-you-have-a-difficult-encounter-with-your-child-there-is-a/) [Cathy Rindner Tempelsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-rindner-tempelsman/) > [I couldn't get you to the ocean, but there was nothing stopping me bringing the ocean to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-couldn-t-get-you-to-the-ocean-but-there-was-nothing-stopping-me/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I think people need to commit to one another before they commit to bringing children into the world because that's the optimum arrangement for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-ward-sears/i-think-people-need-to-commit-to-one-another-before-they-commit-to/) [Leah Ward Sears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-ward-sears/) > [When Marvel approached me about possibly bringing back a She-Hulk solo series, a few touchstones for a take immediately popped into my head -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-soule/when-marvel-approached-me-about-possibly-bringing-back-a-she-hulk/) [Charles Soule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-soule/) > [I was bringing my attitude as a regular person 'cause this is my attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-danzig/i-was-bringing-my-attitude-as-a-regular-person-cause-this-is-my/) [Glenn Danzig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-danzig/) > [People say 'what do you mean' when you talk about 'bringing down civilization.' What I really mean is depriving the rich of the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/people-say-what-do-you-mean-when-you-talk-about-bringing-down/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) [Browse all 318 Bringing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bringing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't rely on bringing people downtown, you have to put them there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Jacobs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/you-can-t-rely-on-bringing-people-downtown-you-have-to-put-them-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bringing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/you-can-t-rely-on-bringing-people-downtown-you-have-to-put-them-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/jane-jacobs-1991_bringing_you-can-t-rely-on-bringing-people-downto_2300388.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/jane-jacobs-1991_bringing_you-can-t-rely-on-bringing-people-downto_2300388.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/jane-jacobs-1991_bringing_you-can-t-rely-on-bringing-people-downto_2300388.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't rely on bringing people downtown, you have to put them there.” — 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": "You can't rely on bringing people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/you-can-t-rely-on-bringing-people-downtown-you-have-to-put-them-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/you-can-t-rely-on-bringing-people-downtown-you-have-to-put-them-there/#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 } } ] } ```