Interesting article, but I couldn't help feeling that non of the hypothesis we're actually correct, and Levine and co are observing are correlations rather than

Interesting article, but I couldn't help feeling that non of the hypothesis we're actually correct, and Levine and co are observing are correlations rather than causation's. My immediate rationale for faster walking pace in denser cities is that there is far more to do in a big city, particularly one with high population. In addition things like trains and buses also get overcrowded and filled, causing unplanned delays to your journey. The reality of living in a city means that there are lots of risks to your schedule when 'taking your time' so the population does what's most logical, and tries to move as quickly and as efficiently as possible.