Philip Johnson Quotes

All it takes is an understanding that humans, not buildings come first when designing a city.

I want people to feel they are living in good urban environments with greenery and green space.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the challenges facing our cities or to the housing crisis, but the two issues need to be considered together. From an urban design and planning point of view, the well-connected open city is a powerful paradigm and an engine for integration and inclusivity.

We're producing spaces that accommodate human activity. And what I'm interested in is not the styling of that, but the relationship of that as it enhances that activity. And that directly connects to ideas of city-making.

I hope that any expansion of London will learn from the planning examples of some of its most desirable areas such as Chelsea, Notting Hill, Belgravia and Mayfair. All are characterised by high density and a generosity of green spaces. They are all pedestrian-friendly with shops, entertainment, restaurants and pubs within easy walking distance.

I have realized after all these years that a city that has a good quality of life attracts jobs. People don't want to invest in places if there is no quality of life.

In the big picture, architecture is the art and science of making sure that our cities and buildings fit with the way we want to live our lives.

For many years, I have lived uncomfortably with the belief that most planning and architectural design suffers for lack of real and basic purpose. The ultimate purpose, it seems to me, must be the improvement of mankind.

We can’t be a great country unless we have great cities.

Children are a kind of indicator species. If we can build a successful city for children, we will have a successful city for all people.

We should concentrate our work not only to a separated housing problem but housing involved in our daily work and all the other functions of the city.

Cities are not static objects to be feared or admired, but are instead a living process that residents are changing all the time.

Buildings should serve people, not the other way around.

I grew up in a small town that was absolutely a perfect embodiment of new urbanism.

We must do more to protect our neighborhoods and give integrity to our community plans.

Stockholm is surely an urban planner's dream. Everything works. Everything looks good.

Cities are not problems. They are solutions.

Every time you think of a city, you have to think green, green, green. Every time you see concrete jungle, you must find open spaces. And when you find open spaces, make it so people can get to them.

After working in cities for nearly 40 years, I am telling you that every city can improve its quality of life in less than three years, no matter the scale or the financial conditions.

I love cities, I spend most of my life talking about cities. And the design of cities does have an effect on your life. You're lucky if you can see trees out of your window and you have a square nearby, or a bar, a cornershop, a surgery. Then you're living well.

One of the most unfortunate side effects of the urban activism of the '60s and '70s is the belief that development is wrong and that fighting it makes you an environmentalist.

Safer cities generally mean stronger urban economies.

Technological considerations are of great importance to architecture and cities in the informational society.

We're all proud of the communities that we've built and are a part of, but we shouldn't accept lost time and unnecessary stress when traveling in them.

Urban development in India... will be the biggest sunrise industry that any country has seen in any part of the world.