Urban Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old urban quotes, urban sayings, and urban proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Dull, inert cities, it is true, do contain the seeds of their own destruction and little else. But lively, diverse, intense cities contain the seeds of their own regeneration, with energy enough to carry over for problems and needs outside themselves. Jane Jacobs
A farm is an irregular patch of nettles bounded by short-term notes, containing a fool and his wife who didn't know enough to stay in the city. S.J. Perelman
Streets moderate the form and structure and comfort of urban communities. Allan Jacobs
I will Basquiat the canvas of your body like a Broadway Junction wall and Gordon Parks you for those dark midnights when your scent fades. Brandi L. Bates
Cities are places for people who can stand the heat of the kitchen. Peter Hall
America's last pioneers, urban nomads in search of wide open interior spaces. Cathleen McGuigan
In an urban environment, a church building is a thing of the past. Mark Batterson
A city that was to live by night after the wilderness had passed. A city that was to forge out of steel and blood red neon its own peculiar wilderness. Nelson Algren
He took me down and out into the afterlife of the brightly lit streets, a haze of rain around each streetlight like a galaxy, the whole street a universe spread out like a banquet. Michael Montoure
Urban legend has it that Area 51 is connected by underground tunnels and trains to other secret facilities around the country. Annie Jacobsen
The fact there is no route map to utopia does not mean that there are no routes to more accessible destinations. Colin Ward
Safer cities generally mean stronger urban economies. Roger Altman
But you're out of another world old kid. You ought to live on top of the Woolworth Building in an apartment made of cutglass and cherry blossoms. John Dos Passos
In an urban area, you're not going to be an hour away from another post office. Blake Farenthold
We need above all, I think, a certain remoteness from urban confusion. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Poor air quality, which can be influenced by a variety of fumes, chemicals and allergens, is arguably the leading cause of triggers for most asthmatics in urban areas. Ian Smith
Urbanism is the most advanced, concrete fulfillment of a nightmare. Littre defines nightmare as 'a state that ends when one awakens with a start after extreme anxiety. But a start against whom? Who has stuffed us to the point of somnolence? Tom McDonough
Le Corbusier's dream city was like a wonderful mechanical toy. But as to how the city works, it tells nothing but lies. Jane Jacobs
You can't understand a city without using its public transportation system. Erol Ozan
Unlike the urban development that I see taking over and swallowing up our precious soil, when we interact with our environment in a way that allows for regeneration and natural spaces, the outcome can be beautiful. Cory Trepanier
Infrastructure deficit is an issue in all urban areas. Sharad Pawar
I have an urban background, but I need melody, I need a song, so I try to mix and match and keep it fluid. Negash Ali
Urban residents, most of them middle class, have a much better sense of their environmental rights, and they're willing to take to the streets. Ma Jun
To give everyone a house and garden is very difficult in urban areas. Jeremy Corbyn
In merging nature and culture the most successful cities combine such universal needs as maintaining or restoring contact with the cycles of nature, with specific, local characteristics. Sally A. Kitt Chappell
We make our buildings and afterwards they make us. They regulate the course of our lives. Winston Churchill
Everyone's looking to the urban scene for inspiration now. Robin Gibb
A good city is like a good party. People don't want to leave early. Jan Gehl
Ultimately we need to recognize that while humans continue to build urban landscapes, we share these spaces with others species. David Suzuki
This is a pivotal time for urban regeneration. We must take a long term view. Richard Rogers