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> a fad before cities become less popular again The only way this happens is if cities like Berlin putting rent freezes prevent construction that would increas
by zanny 7y ago
> a fad before cities become less popular again
The only way this happens is if cities like Berlin putting rent freezes prevent construction that would increase capacity and lower prices to allow people to live in cities. There will be no new economic growth where people are spread thin - all future productivity will only emerge where people are. Any country trying to do anything but centralize their human capital in cities will find themselves at economic disadvantage going forward.
- oezi 7y agoOr technology (self driving cars, remote work) and social change (universal basic income) would not require you to live in a city to work there or work at all that productively.
- zanny 7y agoThe point is more than density is an optimization of the marginal cost of maintaining a person. Manufacturing all the autos, maintaining all the roads for them to travel on, and providing supply lines across vast areas of low density are immense ongoing expenses that are hugely reduced when people are centralized in urban areas. As we move towards remote work it should lead to density increases, not the other way around - living denser means more access to more recreation and services, should mean cheaper goods and infrastructure, and can stymie the isolation problem brewing with remote workers across the industrialized world.