--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In great cities, spaces as well as places…" description: "\"In great cities, spaces as well as places are designed and built: walking, witnessing, being in public, are as much part of the design and purpose as i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/rebecca-solnit-569_cities_in-great-cities-spaces-as-well-as-places_1342876.jpg" --- # In great cities, spaces as well as places are designed and… ![“In great cities, spaces as well as places are designed and built: walking, witnessing, being in public, are as much part of the design and purpose as is being inside to eat, sleep, make shoes or love or music. The word citizen has to do with cities, and the ideal city is organized around…” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/rebecca-solnit-569_cities_in-great-cities-spaces-as-well-as-places_1342876.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/rebecca-solnit-569_cities_in-great-cities-spaces-as-well-as-places_1342876.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/rebecca-solnit-569_cities_in-great-cities-spaces-as-well-as-places_1342876.jpg) > “In great cities, spaces as well as places are designed and built: walking, witnessing, being in public, are as much part of the design and purpose as is being inside to eat, sleep, make shoes or love or music. The word citizen has to do with cities, and the ideal city is organized around citizenship -- around participation in public life.” [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## 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 foster public spaces that encourage walking, witnessing, and civic participation, not just private consumption. **In simple terms:** Cities need walkable public life. Key Takeaway Support inclusive urban design. Themes urban planning citizenship public space Mood reflective inspirational Type urban social When to use this quote - city festivals - community meetings - street markets Key Concepts walkability social interaction civic engagement Questions to Reflect On - What makes a street feel welcoming? - How can citizens shape public spaces? A Different Perspective Design must balance private and public needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Cities Ideal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities-ideal-4542041/) [Cities Spaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities-spaces-4542040/) [Citizen Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizen-cities-4542039/) [Citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizens/) [Citizenship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenship/) [Citizenship Participation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenship-participation-992892/) [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Organized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organized/) [Participation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participation/) [Places Designed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/places-designed-4542042/) [Public life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-life/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Shoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoes/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Walking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [With the full realization that, in order to earn for ourselves any place in the sun, we must with perseverance and self-discipline work collectively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-hay/with-the-full-realization-that-in-order-to-earn-for-ourselves-any/) [Harry Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-hay/) > [There are places that are so designed they're unlivable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/there-are-places-that-are-so-designed-they-re-unlivable/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I'm a big fan of the vigor of civil society, political engagement, and public life in many parts of Latin America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-m-a-big-fan-of-the-vigor-of-civil-society-political-engagement-and/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [We talk about politicians being in public life, but they seldom appear in the public space where everyone is free to appear as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/we-talk-about-politicians-being-in-public-life-but-they-seldom-appear/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [the greater the bureaucratization of public life, the greater will be the attraction of violence. 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They know that I have strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-ve-been-around-in-public-life-for-a-long-time-i-think-people-know/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) ## More by Rebecca Solnit > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. 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Maybe Persephone was glad to run off with the king of death to his underground realm, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-wonder-now-about-demeter-and-persephone-maybe-persephone-was-glad/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [ \[In mountaineering, if\] we look for private experience rather than public history, even getting to the top becomes an optional narrative rather than the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-mountaineering-if-we-look-for-private-experience-rather-than/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo. It's this dead zone between two places. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-me-being-in-a-car-or-on-an-airplane-is-like-being-in-limbo-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Walking shares with making and working that crucial element of engagement of the body and the mind with the world, of knowing the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/walking-shares-with-making-and-working-that-crucial-element-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Marriage equality is a threat: to inequality. It’s a boon to everyone who values and benefits from equality. It’s for all of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/marriage-equality-is-a-threat-to-inequality-it-s-a-boon-to-everyone/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Mountaineering is always spoken of as though summiting is conquest, but as you get higher, the world gets bigger, and you feel smaller in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/mountaineering-is-always-spoken-of-as-though-summiting-is-conquest/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“A procession is a participants' journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/a-procession-is-a-participants-journey-while-a-parade-is-a/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Explore all 469 Rebecca Solnit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## 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. 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 \[Less Developed Countries\]?... 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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": "In great cities, spaces as well as places are designed and built: walking, witnessing, being in public, are as much part of the design and purpose as is being inside to eat, sleep, make shoes or love or music. 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