--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need the possibility of escape as…" description: "\"“We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive all men into crime or drugs or psychoanalys..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/rolf-potts-16781_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_1889204.png" --- # We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need… ![“We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive all men into crime or drugs or psychoanalysis.” quote by Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/rolf-potts-16781_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_1889204.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/rolf-potts-16781_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_1889204.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/rolf-potts-16781_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_1889204.png) > ““We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive all men into crime or drugs or psychoanalysis.”” [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People need both hope and a realistic way out, otherwise urban life can push them toward destructive paths. **In simple terms:** Hope and escape are both essential for healthy cities. Key Takeaway Provide viable alternatives to despair. Themes hope escape urban decay mental health Mood concerned reflective Type sociological analytical When to use this quote - city planning - public health - social services - community programs Key Concepts psychology social policy urban studies Questions to Reflect On - What concrete escapes can cities offer? - How can hope be fostered without false promises? A Different Perspective Escape alone may not solve systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drugs Psychoanalysis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drugs-psychoanalysis-2718733/) [Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) [Escape Surely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape-surely-2718731/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Men Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-crime-2718732/) [Possibility Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility-escape-2718734/) ## Related quotes > [We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [as soon as you know you are in prison, you have a possibility to escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/as-soon-as-you-know-you-are-in-prison-you-have-a-possibility-to-escape/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Can you imagine a world without men? No crime and lots of happy, fat women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/can-you-imagine-a-world-without-men-no-crime-and-lots-of-happy-fat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Can you imagine a world without men? There'd be no crime, and lots of fat happy women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hollander/can-you-imagine-a-world-without-men-there-d-be-no-crime-and-lots-of/) [Nicole Hollander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hollander/) > [It's strange that men should take up crime when there are so many legal ways to be dishonest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/it-s-strange-that-men-should-take-up-crime-when-there-are-so-many/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [“Appalling things can happen to children. And even a happy childhood is filled with sadnesses. Is there any other period in your life when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/appalling-things-can-happen-to-children-and-even-a-happy-childhood-is/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [What really counted was the possibility of escape, a leap of freedom, out of the implacable ritual, a wild run for it that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/what-really-counted-was-the-possibility-of-escape-a-leap-of-freedom/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Wherever you escape, the truth will find you! Always be prepared to meet with it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/wherever-you-escape-the-truth-will-find-you-always-be-prepared-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Music is my escape from all the problems in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailin-cui/music-is-my-escape-from-all-the-problems-in-life/) [Kailin Cui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailin-cui/) > [Music and sleep are two of the greatest ways to escape from everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/music-and-sleep-are-two-of-the-greatest-ways-to-escape-from-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think my attitudes about the past are very traditional. You can't ignore history; you can't escape it even if you want to. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-think-my-attitudes-about-the-past-are-very-traditional-you-can-t/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [Growing up in Iceland, it was very beautiful, very safe, but quite isolated. There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/) [Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) ## More by Rolf Potts > [“Ironically, the best litmus test for measuring your vagabonding gumption is found not in travel but in the process of earning your freedom to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/ironically-the-best-litmus-test-for-measuring-your-vagabonding/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [The secret of adventure, then, is not to carefully seek it out but to travel in such a way that it finds you. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/the-secret-of-adventure-then-is-not-to-carefully-seek-it-out-but-to/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [Travel, I was coming to realize, was a metaphor not only for the countless options life offers but also for the fact that choosing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/travel-i-was-coming-to-realize-was-a-metaphor-not-only-for-the/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [The mind can be a crazy monkey that is always dying to escape from the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/the-mind-can-be-a-crazy-monkey-that-is-always-dying-to-escape-from/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [In a way, simplifying your life for vagabonding is easier than it sounds. This is because travel by its very nature demands simplicity. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/in-a-way-simplifying-your-life-for-vagabonding-is-easier-than-it/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [Zamunda represent everything that is kewl and real about vagabonding…being the person that discovered Zamunda (for independent travelers) during the research of my book,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/zamunda-represent-everything-that-is-kewl-and-real-about-vagabonding/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [Seeing' as you travel is somewhat of a spiritual exercise: a process not of seeking interesting surroundings, but of being continually interested in whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/seeing-as-you-travel-is-somewhat-of-a-spiritual-exercise-a-process/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [What better way to discover the unknown than to follow your instincts instead of your plans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/what-better-way-to-discover-the-unknown-than-to-follow-your-instincts/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [Long-term travel doesn't require a massive bundle of cash; it requires only that we walk through the world in a more deliberate way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/long-term-travel-doesn-t-require-a-massive-bundle-of-cash-it-requires/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [“Of all the intoxicants you can find on the road (including a "national beer" for nearly every country in the world), marijuana deserves a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/of-all-the-intoxicants-you-can-find-on-the-road-including-a-national/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [“My greatest skill has been to want little. —HENRY DAVID THOREAU, WALDEN A”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/my-greatest-skill-has-been-to-want-little-henry-david-thoreau-walden-a/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [“Thus, the question of how and when to start vagabonding is not really a question at all. Vagabonding starts now. Even if the practical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/thus-the-question-of-how-and-when-to-start-vagabonding-is-not-really/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [Begin to look at maps with the narcotic tingle of possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/begin-to-look-at-maps-with-the-narcotic-tingle-of-possibility/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [In reality long-term travel has nothing to do with demographics, age, ideology, income, and everything to do with personal outlook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/in-reality-long-term-travel-has-nothing-to-do-with-demographics-age/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [If in doubt, just walk until your day becomes interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/if-in-doubt-just-walk-until-your-day-becomes-interesting/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) [Explore all 39 Rolf Potts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) ## More Escape quotes > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [Growing up in Iceland, it was very beautiful, very safe, but quite isolated. There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/) [Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/) > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I think my attitudes about the past are very traditional. You can't ignore history; you can't escape it even if you want to. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-think-my-attitudes-about-the-past-are-very-traditional-you-can-t/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Music and sleep are two of the greatest ways to escape from everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/music-and-sleep-are-two-of-the-greatest-ways-to-escape-from-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Music is my escape from all the problems in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailin-cui/music-is-my-escape-from-all-the-problems-in-life/) [Kailin Cui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailin-cui/) > [Wherever you escape, the truth will find you! Always be prepared to meet with it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/wherever-you-escape-the-truth-will-find-you-always-be-prepared-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“I think the best way to escape your head isn’t to think about things that aren’t real, it’s to think about things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-brooks/i-think-the-best-way-to-escape-your-head-isn-t-to-think-about-things/) [Ben Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-brooks/) > [“You could say she hid there, in the words, an escape within an escape...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aurelie-sheehan/you-could-say-she-hid-there-in-the-words-an-escape-within-an-escape/) [Aurelie Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aurelie-sheehan/) > [Life will drag us kicking and screaming to our destiny if we try to escape it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-villoldo/life-will-drag-us-kicking-and-screaming-to-our-destiny-if-we-try-to/) [Alberto Villoldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-villoldo/) > [How did you escape? (Syd) I fought my way out in a manner that would have made Rambo proud. And when I got home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/how-did-you-escape-syd-i-fought-my-way-out-in-a-manner-that-would/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [There are reasons people seek escape in books, and one of those reasons is that the boundary of what can happen is beyond what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/there-are-reasons-people-seek-escape-in-books-and-one-of-those/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [“Well, I like to know where I'm going before I try to get there. It's a mistake to try to execute a plan before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/well-i-like-to-know-where-i-m-going-before-i-try-to-get-there-it-s-a/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“If poetry is an escape into the woods, then music is the journey back home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akash-mandal/if-poetry-is-an-escape-into-the-woods-then-music-is-the-journey-back/) [Akash Mandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akash-mandal/) [Browse all 1,660 Escape quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive all men into crime or drugs or psychoanalysis.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rolf Potts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope-without/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Escape" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope-without/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/rolf-potts-16781_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_1889204.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/rolf-potts-16781_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_1889204.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/rolf-potts-16781_escape_we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-sur_1889204.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive…” — Rolf Potts", "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": "Rolf Potts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We need the possibility of escape...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope-without/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/we-need-the-possibility-of-escape-as-surely-as-we-need-hope-without/#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 } } ] } ```