Prometro: The Argument for Density

An interesting read in the Harvard Gazette (by way of kottke.org). A snippet:

"...It's the turn-of-the-century photographs that Jacob Riis took of the slums on the Lower East Side, it's the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis that had to be torn down in the 1970s. It's the image of the huddled masses, of disease, crime, congestion. But the statistics show that density is not a leading factor for these conditions. For example, the TB statistics show that the key elements are new immigrants and poverty. Similarly, it's poverty and the lack of job opportunities that drive crime and not density, per se."

The article highlights the benefits (and, well, joys) of living in the city. These include less environmental impact, better tax-base, and nearby high-quality institutions and cultural resources.