--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whose maps are we trying to read? And…" description: "\"“Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying to draw? It's so common to live in a place without truly knowing its history, its systems, an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/rebecca-solnit-569_cities_whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-wha_61220.png" --- # Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying… ![“Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying to draw? It's so common to live in a place without truly knowing its history, its systems, and the people who are different from you and who move through different versions of the city.” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/rebecca-solnit-569_cities_whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-wha_61220.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/rebecca-solnit-569_cities_whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-wha_61220.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/rebecca-solnit-569_cities_whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-wha_61220.png) > ““Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying to draw? It's so common to live in a place without truly knowing its history, its systems, and the people who are different from you and who move through different versions of the city.”” [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. The quote urges awareness of hidden histories, power structures, and diverse experiences shaping urban life, urging deeper engagement beyond surface perception. **In simple terms:** Encourages critical reflection on urban narratives. Key Takeaway Recognize unseen histories and perspectives. Themes history urban studies social equity identity power dynamics Mood thoughtful inquisitive empathetic Type philosophical sociopolitical reflective When to use this quote - city planning meetings - community workshops - multicultural festivals - academic seminars - journalistic investigations Key Concepts place-making collective memory intersectionality Practical Applications - policy analysis - educational curricula Questions to Reflect On - How might our daily routes be shaped by unseen histories? - What steps can we take to learn the stories of those we overlook? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Knowing History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-history-834014/) [Maps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maps/) [Maps Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maps-trying-834013/) [People Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-different-236144/) [Read Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-trying-306203/) ## Related quotes > [I'm afraid I'm just too intense to have soft ideas, you know, about what to read when you're trying to pass the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-m-afraid-i-m-just-too-intense-to-have-soft-ideas-you-know-about/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I don't have time to read much. I'm trying to read 'The Brothers Karamazov' again, for a year now - I keep getting halfway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yorgos-lanthimos/i-don-t-have-time-to-read-much-i-m-trying-to-read-the-brothers/) [Yorgos Lanthimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yorgos-lanthimos/) > [“My eyes burned, and I blinked as I faced the books. "And I suppose," I said with an effort at lightness, "That it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/my-eyes-burned-and-i-blinked-as-i-faced-the-books-and-i-suppose-i/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [If change is to come, it must come from the working class. That's why telling their story is important. That's why knowing our history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/if-change-is-to-come-it-must-come-from-the-working-class-that-s-why/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [I'm not against knowing the history of white people in the U.S. - that's not the point. The point is that there's so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/i-m-not-against-knowing-the-history-of-white-people-in-the-u-s-that-s/) [Luis J. Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [If you don't know your history, you don't have an idea how you channel things in your life. Knowing that history, I was able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-richards/if-you-don-t-know-your-history-you-don-t-have-an-idea-how-you-channel/) [Viv Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-richards/) > [“It's bad idea to try to prevent people from knowing their own history. If you want to do anything new you must first make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hans-josef-gombrich/it-s-bad-idea-to-try-to-prevent-people-from-knowing-their-own-history/) [Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hans-josef-gombrich/) > [Without knowing your own history, you are doomed to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-v-gordon/without-knowing-your-own-history-you-are-doomed-to-repeat-it/) [Emily V. Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-v-gordon/) > [“If we cannot agree on what was important yesterday, what more on events that happened a hundred or three hundred years ago? The point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambeth-ocampo/if-we-cannot-agree-on-what-was-important-yesterday-what-more-on/) [Ambeth Ocampo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambeth-ocampo/) > [“There is no shame in not knowing your history, the shame lies in not finding out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/habeeb-akande/there-is-no-shame-in-not-knowing-your-history-the-shame-lies-in-not/) [Habeeb Akande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/habeeb-akande/) > [It's not about the past; it's about knowing your history so that you can fight in the present. Otherwise, you don't know who the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/it-s-not-about-the-past-it-s-about-knowing-your-history-so-that-you/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [There is one thing about knowing history, and another in recreating it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/there-is-one-thing-about-knowing-history-and-another-in-recreating-it/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [Knowing your history can give you the tools to shape your future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-feldt/knowing-your-history-can-give-you-the-tools-to-shape-your-future/) [Gloria Feldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-feldt/) > [“If you walk a city, if you love a city, if you put in your miles and years with open heart and mind, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/if-you-walk-a-city-if-you-love-a-city-if-you-put-in-your-miles-and/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [A labyrinth is a symbolic journey . . . but it is a map we can really walk on, blurring the difference between map and world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/a-labyrinth-is-a-symbolic-journey-but-it-is-a-map-we-can-really-walk/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## 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. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/joy-doesn-t-betray-but-sustains-activism-and-when-you-face-a-politics/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“To love someone is to put yourself in their place, we say, which is to put ourself in their story, or figure out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/to-love-someone-is-to-put-yourself-in-their-place-we-say-which-is-to/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I was being cured of soldiering on endlessly: my job was now to be still, which had become almost easy at last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-was-being-cured-of-soldiering-on-endlessly-my-job-was-now-to-be/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [In the aftermath of 9/11, people had not a good time, but a deep, profound, rousing time, woke up from their ennui and isolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-the-aftermath-of-9-11-people-had-not-a-good-time-but-a-deep/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I wonder now about Demeter and Persephone. 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/) > [“Listen: you are not yourself, you are crowds of others, you are as leaky a vessel as was ever made, you have spent vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/listen-you-are-not-yourself-you-are-crowds-of-others-you-are-as-leaky/) [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. 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. 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 \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. 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. 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": "“Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying to draw? It's so common to live in a place without truly knowing its history, its systems, and the people who are different from you and who move through different versions of the city.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rebecca Solnit" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-what-are-we-trying-to-draw-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-what-are-we-trying-to-draw-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/rebecca-solnit-569_cities_whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-wha_61220.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/rebecca-solnit-569_cities_whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-wha_61220.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/rebecca-solnit-569_cities_whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-wha_61220.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying to draw? It's so common to live in a place without…” — Rebecca Solnit", "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": "Rebecca Solnit", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Whose maps are we trying to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-what-are-we-trying-to-draw-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-what-are-we-trying-to-draw-it-s/#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 } } ] } ```