4 ms·
Over the last 3 months I’ve come to believe increasing human urban density is correlated with increasing viral illness. Over the next tens and hundreds of year
by blendo 6y ago
Over the last 3 months I’ve come to believe increasing human urban density is correlated with increasing viral illness. Over the next tens and hundreds of years, this bodes poorly for the viability of Tokyo/New York/Mumbai/Seoul and others.
I’ll offer that only Tokyo may yet survive another couple of hundred years of widespread, infective zoonotic diseases, as Japan’s astonishingly low fertility rate might halve or quarter their population by the year 2200.
Curious what others think about long term population trends vis a vis human health?
- tw04 6y agoI think you missed the entirety of China... if they aren’t onboard, it won’t matter.
- throwawaysea 6y agoThis is purely my personal opinion, but I’m not sure if one pandemic in 100 years will be enough to influence population trends. But I think if this happens again, definitely. I also wanted to add that human health comes in many dimensions. Having lived for years in a mega city, it’s clear to me that it is bad for my mental and physical health. There is something spiritually and mentally freeing about lower density cities and the balance they strike. They also encourage you to experience the outdoors more. The character of smaller cities - like open air, outside the shadows of high rises or even mid rises, with ample green spaces, private homes with backyards, etc. are a massive boon to overall health. I view overurbanization as a fad that we will ultimately pull back from as we return to seek the basics and a connection to a simpler existence. Or maybe that’s just my hope.
- stephenbez 6y agoSeoul and Hong Kong have a similar population to New York City and last I checked had 4 deaths compared to New York's 15,000. The problem was bad leadership, not density. If you care about health, life expectancy in NYC is significantly above the US average.