William H. Whyte Quotes

11 Sourced Quotes

The great enemy of communication, we find, is the illusion of it.

William H. Whyte
People very rarely think in groups; they talk together, they exchange information, they adjudicate, they make compromises. But they do not think; they do not create.

William H. Whyte
This book is about the organization man…I can think of no other way to describe the people I am talking about. They are not the workers, nor are they the white-collar people in the usual, clerk sense of the word. These people only work for the Organization. The ones I am talking about belong to it as well.

William H. Whyte
We have talked enough; but we have not listened. And by not listening we have failed to concede the immense complexity of our society — and thus the great gaps between ourselves and those with whom we seek understanding.

William H. Whyte
The street is the river of life of the city, the place where we come together, the pathway to the center.

William H. Whyte
Sprawl is bad aesthetics; it is bad economics. Five acres are being made to do the work of one, and do it very poorly.

William H. Whyte
This book is about the organization man. If the term is vague, it is because I can think of no other way to describe the people I am talking about.... They are the ones of our middle class who have left home, spiritually as well as physically, to take the vows of organization life, and it is they who are the mind and soul of our great self-perpetuating institutions.

William H. Whyte
It is difficult to design a space that will not attract people. What is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished.

William H. Whyte
We have been the most prodigal of people with land, and for years we wasted it with impunity. There was so much of it, and no matter how we fouled it, there was always more over the next hill, or so it seemed.

William H. Whyte
It's not right to put water before people and then keep them away from it.

William H. Whyte
Nonconformity is an empty goal, and rebellion against prevailing opinion merely because it is prevailing should no more be praised than acquiescence to it. Indeed, it is often a mask for cowardice, and few are more pathetic than those who flaunt outer differences to expiate their inner surrender.

William H. Whyte