The Death and Life of Great American Cities (Random House, 1961)

Their wordsCities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.

Their wordsOld ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.

Their wordsUnder the seeming disorder of the old city, wherever the old city is working successfully, is a marvelous order for maintaining the safety of the streets and the freedom of the city.

Their wordsDull, inert cities, it is true, do contain the seeds of their own destruction and little else.

Their wordsA city cannot be a work of art.

Their wordsStreets and their sidewalks, the main public places of a city, are its most vital organs.

Their wordsThe trust of a city street is formed over time from many, many little public sidewalk contacts.

Their wordsCities are an immense laboratory of trial and error, failure and success, in city building and city design.

Their wordsTo approach a city, or even a city neighborhood, as if it were a larger architectural problem, capable of being given order by converting it into a disciplined work of art, is to make the mistake of attempting to substitute art for life.

Their wordsA well-used city street is apt to be a safe street. A deserted city street is apt to be unsafe.