Cities cut carbon; the suburbs, not so much
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I’m writing this at 4.30am in 69m2, shared with my gynaecologist spouse, Siri, and two kids. The timing is a necessity, thanks to the utter US failure to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. The size was a choice.
We moved from an already small apartment — small, that is, by US realtor standards; large by any other measure — to an even smaller one last year. Living in the middle of everything in downtown Manhattan is an enormous luxury, even — or especially — during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The supposed Covid-19-pandemic flight from cities has by now spawned its own genre in response: love letters to cities, from Jerry Seinfeld on down. Here’s mine, viewed through an unabashed carbon lens.
When moving in, I floated the idea of painting parts of our ceiling with global warming stripes. Siri nixed that idea, preferring white and suggesting that our home itself doubles as a symbol. Little did we know that these same stripes would soon appear a block away on the roof of the Detox Market.
Pretty much everything is within two or three blocks from home. Living in the “15-minute city”, where everything is within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from home, is a source of inspiration for good reason.
For anyone who doubts the fundamental forces making cities so attractive, look no further than Silicon Valley. Why, if remote work was so great, would many of those creating the technologies that allow for remote work congregate in one place?
Silicon Valley, of course, is not a city. It’s suburbia. Everyone who can afford it gets a single-family house, a car (or two), and a carbon footprint to match. Cities are the most carbon-efficient places to live, suburbs the least.
The oft-heard choice among environmentalists is between city or country: Which one is better for the climate? Live in a dense, urban environment, or live in the sparsely populated countryside, off the land? That choice is an utterly false one.
For one, many more, of course, do live in dense urban centres (globally, more than 50%) compared to the country (2% to 10%, depending on who’s counting whom).
It really is a choice between living in the city and living in the land of the “well, actually”.
“Oh, New York?” “Well, actually. I live in Great Neck Gardens. Exit 26N. Only 40 minutes, without traffic.”
“Oh, Paris?” “Well, actually, Ballainvilliers. ...
We moved from an already small apartment — small, that is, by US realtor standards; large by any other measure — to an even smaller one last year. Living in the middle of everything in downtown Manhattan is an enormous luxury, even — or especially — during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The supposed Covid-19-pandemic flight from cities has by now spawned its own genre in response: love letters to cities, from Jerry Seinfeld on down. Here’s mine, viewed through an unabashed carbon lens.
When moving in, I floated the idea of painting parts of our ceiling with global warming stripes. Siri nixed that idea, preferring white and suggesting that our home itself doubles as a symbol. Little did we know that these same stripes would soon appear a block away on the roof of the Detox Market.
Pretty much everything is within two or three blocks from home. Living in the “15-minute city”, where everything is within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from home, is a source of inspiration for good reason.
For anyone who doubts the fundamental forces making cities so attractive, look no further than Silicon Valley. Why, if remote work was so great, would many of those creating the technologies that allow for remote work congregate in one place?
Silicon Valley, of course, is not a city. It’s suburbia. Everyone who can afford it gets a single-family house, a car (or two), and a carbon footprint to match. Cities are the most carbon-efficient places to live, suburbs the least.
The oft-heard choice among environmentalists is between city or country: Which one is better for the climate? Live in a dense, urban environment, or live in the sparsely populated countryside, off the land? That choice is an utterly false one.
For one, many more, of course, do live in dense urban centres (globally, more than 50%) compared to the country (2% to 10%, depending on who’s counting whom).
It really is a choice between living in the city and living in the land of the “well, actually”.
“Oh, New York?” “Well, actually. I live in Great Neck Gardens. Exit 26N. Only 40 minutes, without traffic.”
“Oh, Paris?” “Well, actually, Ballainvilliers. ...