--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cities are for people. A city is where…" description: "\"Cities are for people. A city is where people come to work and raise their families and to spend their money and to walk in the evening. It is not a tr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eff/john-norquist-87953_cities_cities-are-for-people-a-city-is-where-pe_723430.jpg" --- # Cities are for people. A city is where people come to work… ![“Cities are for people. A city is where people come to work and raise their families and to spend their money and to walk in the evening. It is not a traffic corridor.” quote by John Norquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eff/john-norquist-87953_cities_cities-are-for-people-a-city-is-where-pe_723430.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eff/john-norquist-87953_cities_cities-are-for-people-a-city-is-where-pe_723430.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eff/john-norquist-87953_cities_cities-are-for-people-a-city-is-where-pe_723430.jpg) > “Cities are for people. A city is where people come to work and raise their families and to spend their money and to walk in the evening. It is not a traffic corridor.” John Norquist ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cities should serve residents’ daily lives, not just traffic flow; they must foster community, commerce, and livability. **In simple terms:** Cities are for people, not cars. Key Takeaway Design urban spaces around human activity. Themes urban planning community livability transportation economics Mood hopeful practical inspirational Type urbanism policy When to use this quote - neighborhood development - public transit planning - family-friendly zoning Key Concepts human-centered design public space theory social equity Questions to Reflect On - What would a people‑first city look like? - How can traffic be managed without dominating city design? A Different Perspective Prioritizing cars can erode community bonds. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [The toughest part for me is the city - the people. 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People stuck around, and they stuck around because they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennie-james/in-the-kids-home-i-was-in-there-was-very-little-change-of-staff/) [Lennie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennie-james/) > [Iraq is just like New York. It's just like Detroit. It's where people live and raise their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xzibit/iraq-is-just-like-new-york-it-s-just-like-detroit-it-s-where-people/) [Xzibit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xzibit/) > [People who go to work every day, make sacrifices to raise families, and get through life without hurting other people if they can help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/people-who-go-to-work-every-day-make-sacrifices-to-raise-families-and/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [In the home we make certain distinctions about functions of rooms and corridors; we do not deliver the groceries straight into the baby's crib.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ward-baroness-jackson-of-lodsworth/in-the-home-we-make-certain-distinctions-about-functions-of-rooms-and/) [Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ward-baroness-jackson-of-lodsworth/) > [How people move around their city is a big deal. It affects productivity, security, health, and global warming, among other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-martin-skibsted/how-people-move-around-their-city-is-a-big-deal-it-affects/) [Jens Martin Skibsted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-martin-skibsted/) > [I'm a fifth generation Washingtonian and I was born and raised here. My kid's a sixth generation Washingtonian. Honestly I wish people didn't move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mackaye/i-m-a-fifth-generation-washingtonian-and-i-was-born-and-raised-here/) [Ian MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mackaye/) > [“You can take the people out of the city, but you can't take the soul — that remains here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-fisher/you-can-take-the-people-out-of-the-city-but-you-can-t-take-the-soul/) T.J. Fisher > [We're just welcoming people to our city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jermaine-dupri/we-re-just-welcoming-people-to-our-city/) [Jermaine Dupri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jermaine-dupri/) > [If it's in your personality to get out and talk to people, then you get to see what it is that city has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chali-2na/if-it-s-in-your-personality-to-get-out-and-talk-to-people-then-you/) [Chali 2na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chali-2na/) > [I become friends with people in each city who can show me around. Like if someone came to Los Angeles they wouldn't really know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauly-shore/i-become-friends-with-people-in-each-city-who-can-show-me-around-like/) [Pauly Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauly-shore/) > [Football is the best way to get to know a people and a city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/football-is-the-best-way-to-get-to-know-a-people-and-a-city/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [I know a lot of people in the city, at all levels, horizontally and vertically - and that to me is a privilege, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-know-a-lot-of-people-in-the-city-at-all-levels-horizontally-and/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) ## More by John Norquist > [Highways dont belong in cities. Period. Europe didnt do it. America did. And our cities have paid the price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-norquist/highways-dont-belong-in-cities-period-europe-didnt-do-it-america-did/) John Norquist > [The highway program devalues the tax base of a city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-norquist/the-highway-program-devalues-the-tax-base-of-a-city/) John Norquist Explore all 3 John Norquist quotes ## 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. 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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": "Cities are for people. A city is where people come to work and raise their families and to spend their money and to walk in the evening. 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