How have cities thrived and spread for the last five thousand years when they labor under such heavy burdens? In historic societies, city-dwellers lived shorter, less healthy lives than country-folk and produced too few children to maintain urban populations, requiring a flow of immigrants from the country. That’s because urban crowding produces filth, disease, and stress. Many modern cities have solved the hygiene problem (though some haven’t), but they still suffer from traffic, noise pollution, high rents, crime, and awful schools, leading millions to flee to the suburbs.  Many in the 1990’s thought the Internet would be the death of cities, as virtual commuting freed workers to live among the trees and flowers. Instead, cities have continued the expansion they’ve enjoyed since ancient Sumer. Continue reading “Cities, Creativity, and Why the World Will Never Be Flat” →