Urban - Density - Is - A - Thread - by - Culturaltutor - Nov 20, 23 - From - Rattibha

The Cultural Tutor
@culturaltutor
21 Tweets • 2023-11-20 •  See on

rattibha.com 
"Urban Density" is a concept which completely

changes how cities feel.
Low Density is more peaceful and has more space

and privacy, but High Density is livelier, walkable, and
creates stronger communities.
Where would you rather live?

Low Density is when you have single family homes,
often with gardens, driveways, and garages, spread
out over a large area of land.
Low Density is also usually single use — there are

houses and nothing else, perhaps with a city centre,
high street, or mall somewhere nearby.
High Density Housing, meanwhile, is when you have
large blocks of apartments clustered together.
High Density is also usually mixed use — there are

shops, schools, commercial, industrial, civic, cultural,
and entertainment places mixed in with the housing.
Density — and the differences between and relative
advantages and disadvantages of Low and High
Density Housing — is one of the most important
concepts in urban design.
Because it can totally change the economics,

community, and culture of a city.
While Low Density Housing has more space, and is

greener and more peaceful, it also tends to produce
atomised communities and an overreliance on cars.
High Density, meanwhile, has less space and is

busier, but is consequently much livelier, walkable,
and convenient.
But the most interesting thing of all is that, at different
times, one of the two has seemed like a more
appropriate way to design cities.
So the question is not simply, "which is better?"
Rather, we should be asking, "what do we need right

now?"
Most medium-sized European cities are now regarded

as ideal.
People want to live there and tourists flock to them.
Think of a city like Bologna in Italy, which receives

nearly three million visitors per year despite having a
population of just 300,000.
And that makes sense.
Cities like Bologna have wonderful architecture, they

are completely walkable, and they are lively: you'll find
cafes, bars, restaurants, bookshops, museums,
galleries, history, and much else going on.
The quality of life here is very high indeed.

But, to people living one or two hundred years ago,
this would be a big surprise.
Because, once upon a time, most of those "charming"

cities — and all city centres, big or small — were
places of industry, squalor, overpopulation, and
disease.
The reason Paris looks like it does today is because,
during the 19th century, they demolished most of the
old Medieval city and replaced it with broad
boulevards and brand new apartments to improve
public health and the general quality of life.
The same happened in Barcelona:

During the Industrial Revolution urban populations
skyrocketed; everybody moved for work.
Thus, even as the factories were being built, the

chimneystacks going up, and the streets shrouded in
smog, tens of thousands of people were cramming
into inadequate, unsanitary housing.
But rebuilding old city centres was expensive,
complicated, and time-consuming.
Thus, as cities became overcrowded, those who could

afford it moved to something called... "the suburbs".
Away from the industry, disease, and crowds of the

city centre — life was better there.
This process was accelerated by the rise of railways,
trams, and metros; when the London Underground
opened in 1863 it forever revolutionised how cities
would be designed.
So the suburbs spread, because people could travel

from ever further away, and this was welcomed.
In the late 19th century public intellectuals like William
Morris dreamed of "garden cities" where people might
live in spacious houses, amid broad streets, good
schools, and clean air.
Once upon a time Low Density Housing was a dream

that sounded too good to be true.
And what trains had started, cars took to its logical
conclusion.
They made it possible for suburbs to be even larger,

and ever more distant from city centres. And with the
rise of cars there came malls and shopping outlets.
Suburbs became Low Density Cities of their own.

This Low Density dream was finally and fully realised
in the decades after WWII, as countries all around the
world started to rebuild and, with growing populations,
expand.
Tower blocks were built in city centres, but the

majority of expansion was in the ever-vaster suburbs.
But now the situation has changed.
That surburban dream has been inverted; it is the High

Density city centre which has — not everywhere, but
in many places — become the location where people
want to live.
Those once-plagued streets have become miniature

urban paradises.
Why?
It's partly because of major economic changes.

Deindustrialisation meant cities were no longer
dominated by factories, power stations, and mills.
Those factories and docklands have become shopping

centres, galleries, and apartments — a sign of
changing times.
Add to deindustrialisation the general improvements in
infrastructure and technology, from heating to
plumbing to electrics, and those formerly squalid city
centres have been transformed into altogether
pleasant places to live.
And, finally, in the Age of the Internet, it may be the
case that people are now craving the sense of
community and identity and liveliness that High
Density urban centres provide.
People see walkable streets as an antidote to the

atomisation caused by social media.
These are not the only options and we don't have to
choose only one of them when we design our cities,
but the question of *how* we should build is eternal.
So what do we need in the 21st century — more Low

Density or more High Density?
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The Cultural Tutor

21 Tweets • 2023-11-20 •  See on

"Urban Density" is a concept which completely

Low Density is more peaceful and has more space

Where would you rather live?

Low Density is also usually single use — there are

High Density is also usually mixed use — there are

Because it can totally change the economics,

While Low Density Housing has more space, and is

High Density, meanwhile, has less space and is

So the question is not simply, "which is better?"

Rather, we should be asking, "what do we need right

Most medium-sized European cities are now regarded

People want to live there and tourists flock to them.

Think of a city like Bologna in Italy, which receives

Cities like Bologna have wonderful architecture, they

The quality of life here is very high indeed.

Because, once upon a time, most of those "charming"

The same happened in Barcelona:

Thus, even as the factories were being built, the

Thus, as cities became overcrowded, those who could

Away from the industry, disease, and crowds of the

So the suburbs spread, because people could travel

Once upon a time Low Density Housing was a dream

They made it possible for suburbs to be even larger,

Suburbs became Low Density Cities of their own.

Tower blocks were built in city centres, but the

That surburban dream has been inverted; it is the High

Those once-plagued streets have become miniature

It's partly because of major economic changes.

Those factories and docklands have become shopping

People see walkable streets as an antidote to the

So what do we need in the 21st century — more Low

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