Let’s face it; large cities can get a bad rap. They can be noisy, dirty and smelly. They have towering skylines that block out the sun, and their dark alleys are often stereotyped in the worst kind of way for the sake of a good crime story.
Global Ethics Summit
Why then did the United Nations recently release a report claiming that more than 50 percent (and counting) of the world’s population lives in urban areas? Perhaps it’s because large cities have some of the best parks, the most breathtaking art and the top sporting events. And it doesn’t hurt that they tend to have 24-hour metro and bus lines for the late night booze hounds and the generally restless.
On top of that, often overlooked advantages of living in large downtown areas are the health benefits compared to life in the suburbs.
“There’s a clear indication now that suburban living is associated with obesity and high rates of lung and heart disease,” says William Rees, professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning and founder of the ‘ecological footprint’ concept. “The nature of planning in North American cities, which tends to separate residential from commercial from shopping uses, virtually forces everyone to use a car.”
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