Density: Just a fancy term for overcrowding?

2022-09-23

Download

Is urban density good or bad??? This is the type of question we'd prefer not to answer. But if you're okay with a little nuance, hop on in while we take a stroll through what density means, what it does and doesn't do, and why the topic riles so many people up.We talk about:What density measuresArguments people make against densityArguments people make in favor of densityA theory on why density tends to be a fixation in North AmericaDifferent ways to reach the same densityHow cars...

Is urban density good or bad??? This is the type of question we'd prefer not to answer.

But if you're okay with a little nuance, hop on in while we take a stroll through what density means, what it does and doesn't do, and why the topic riles so many people up.

We talk about:

What density measures
Arguments people make against density
Arguments people make in favor of density
A theory on why density tends to be a fixation in North America
Different ways to reach the same density
How cars factor in (and cars always factor in!)
What is overcrowding? And how that relates to "density"
How talking about urban intensity allows for greater specificity
And a lot more!

Links:

Want to learn more on this episode’s topic? There has been no shortage of words written on the virus and our cities. Here's just a tiny sample:

June 1972 article from Psychological Review, titled "On the distinction between density and crowding: Some implications for future research" by Daniel Stokols
June 22, 2021 article in Policy Options Politiques, "We need to focus on the problem of crowding, not density, in our cities" by Valerie Preston and Brian Ray
June 1, 2020 TVO Today article, "Density is a planning problem. Crowding is a money problem" by John Michael McGrath
January 2019 Governing, "Why ‘Density’ Is a Bad Word: It’s often used to describe how people live in urban spaces. But it shouldn't be." by Alex Marshall

---

Check us out on Twitter and Instagram @webuiltitpod.

Hosted by AJ Fawver and Jordan Clark. Edited by Jordan Clark.

Music in this episode includes: Sounds of the Supermarket, Blue Dot Sessions, bummies. (on YouTube), a 1986 recording from The Weather Channel, lukrembo (on YouTube), C. Scott, Isaac Horwedel, and Dead Moon ("Too Many People")

Comments (3)