# Can anyone remind me of urban planning quotation about the need for unplanned or random spaces? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 21, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-remind-me-of-urban-planning-quotation-about-the-need-for-unplanned-or-random-spaces/760465 "2016-07-21T03:09:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-remind-me-of-urban-planning-quotation-about-the-need-for-unplanned-or-random-spaces/760465/1 "2016-07-21T03:09:35Z")
I’m getting ready to publish a new blog post about the history and demolition of parts of northern DTLA, and I would like to close it out with a particular quotation. Unfortunately I can’t remember the quote except for the general gist, which is that cities need to retain some unplanned spaces in order to be not totally sterile. Can anyone help me out here? It may be from Jane Jacobs, but I wasn’t able to google up the quote. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-remind-me-of-urban-planning-quotation-about-the-need-for-unplanned-or-random-spaces/760465/2 "2016-07-21T03:20:13Z")
Out of my league, but any of [these](http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/urban-planning) ring a bell? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-remind-me-of-urban-planning-quotation-about-the-need-for-unplanned-or-random-spaces/760465/3 "2016-07-21T03:27:53Z")
Thanks for the link, but I didn’t find the quote I’m after. I could just write the same basic thought myself, but the quote I’m trying to remember put it much better than I could. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-remind-me-of-urban-planning-quotation-about-the-need-for-unplanned-or-random-spaces/760465/4 "2016-07-21T06:59:09Z")
Cubes, squares, rectangles. Everything straight, everything even. Clutter has been outlawed. But a little disorder is a good thing. That’s where poetry lurks. We never needed promoters to provide us, in their generosity, with ‘leisure spaces’. We invented our own. Today there’s no question of putting your own space together, the planning commission will shut it down. Spontaneity has been outlawed. People are afraid of life. - Robert Doisneau ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-remind-me-of-urban-planning-quotation-about-the-need-for-unplanned-or-random-spaces/760465/5 "2016-07-21T07:10:30Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Cubes, squares, rectangles. Everything straight, everything even. Clutter has been outlawed. But a little disorder is a good thing. That’s where poetry lurks. We never needed promoters to provide us, in their generosity, with ‘leisure spaces’. We invented our own. Today there’s no question of putting your own space together, the planning commission will shut it down. Spontaneity has been outlawed. People are afraid of life. > > - Robert Doisneau How interesting! We have a framed Robert Doisneau poster on our bedroom wall. I think I can use your quote, even though it isn’t the one I was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-remind-me-of-urban-planning-quotation-about-the-need-for-unplanned-or-random-spaces/760465/6 "2016-07-21T07:56:09Z")
The new post is up, announced [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19494082#post19494082). Thanks again to TOWP for supplying a great quotation.