4 ms·
Human societies have always crowded riverbanks. Until very recent times.
by kurupt213 4y ago
Human societies have always crowded riverbanks. Until very recent times.
- bobthepanda 4y agoBoth statements can be true at the same time * this is a common pattern of settlement * the different geographies of two countries make a very simple (population / land area) density figure misleading, because Belgium is nearly 100% riverbank or floodplain and Pakistan is not This is such a known problem that the US Census already has a different density measurement method, population-weighted density: https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/census-bureau-embraces-weighted-density/69236/ https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollecti...
- seszett 4y agoAlthough Belgium certainly isn't as rugged as Pakistan, it's far from flat and especially in Wallonia population is very concentrated along one valley (the sillon Sambre et Meuse): https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kobe-Boussauw/publication/293641051/figure/fig1/AS:348457123500032@1460090060752/Population-density-in-Belgium-Source-Statistics-Belgium-2010.png https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kobe-Boussauw/publicati... As a result, the region has a population density of 240/km² (only slightly less than Pakistan) but about 2/3rds of the population is in this valley representing 1/16th of the area of Wallonia. Flanders is mostly flat and more evenly settled. This is actually more similar than I expected to the population distribution in Pakistan, with Punjab being a flat plain with an evenly distributed population, and the rest of the country being mostly settled along one river. By the way, Belgium also suffered a large flooding event last year in this valley, although nowhere near as deadly as what is happening in Pakistan.