Economics: Why Bigger Cities Would Slow Global Warming & Foster Economic Growth

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - There are a lot ideas about how to curb global warming. Usually they come with enormous costs and could slow global economic growth. But there exists a remedy: Motivating more people to move to big cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris & London. This would not only reduce global warming, it would also foster productivity & economic growth.

Today millions live in suburbs or in the hinterland, called the sprawl, and they need to drive a lot for jobs, labor & leisure. They burn of course a lot of gasoline and emit CO2 and contribute so to global warming. If a large number of Americans would move to the big cities they would burn much less gasoline.  I live in New York City and don´t need a car (and I don`t have one) because the distances are short. Most things can be done by walking or using subways & buses. Burning much less gasoline would significantly reduce the emission of CO2 and so slow global warming.

If millions would move to the big cities, more land could turn green again. Today large areas of the US - and other countries - are covered with concrete: Houses, shopping malls, streets, parking spaces. Some areas could be could be replanted with forests, bush- and grassland which would take CO2 out of the air and emit oxygen and so participate in the struggle against global warming.

I think New York City, Los Angeles, London, Madrid, Paris  & Co. could be much bigger. Many people would like to live there if they could afford the rents because there are so many opportunities for jobs, leisure, shopping & meeting people. But rents in New York City & Co. are way too high and flats are often not available. This is a result of misguided city management. NYC, Los Angeles & other metropolises limit their size because they have regulations (zoning laws) which limit construction, the heights of  buildings and the number of available apartments. If the big communities change their zoning laws and allow more & much higher buildings the cities could grow vertically and become much bigger. Skyscrapers  -  especially the new slim towers you can see now in Manhattan - don´t need much space. The new slim towers multiply the number of available apartments per square foot. So cities can grow vertically - and upwards is a lot of space, thanks to modern technologies.

Unfortunately the new skyscrapers are very expensive partly caused by zoning laws. The constructors need to buy additional "air rights" which allow them to buy the unused air space of their neighbors and add it on to their own lot  (theguardian). These "air rights" raise the costs of the new towers and so the rents & apartment prices. If the cities abandon the height limits they would reduce the construction costs and would allow raising the number of apartments significantly - which would raise the supply and so lower the rents. Taller high rises would enhance the supply of flats significantly and so reduce the rents. This is already proven by new Manhattan`s new mega-projects like Hudson Yard or Essex Crossing in lower Manhattan which include some flats with affordable rents (by lottery curbed ). Lower rents and more modern buildings would make big cities more attractive and would foster their growth. Economists Gilles Duranton, Diego Puga claim that if planning regulations were lifted entirely, NYC would reach about 40 million people, Philadelphia 38 million and Boston just shy of 30 million ( nber.org marginalrevolution  ).

It is well known that big & dense cities foster economic growth. The short distances raise the change and reduce the cost to find employers, employees, customers & business partners which translates into a higher productivity ( newyorkfed ). "Clusters of talented and ambitious people increase one another’s productivity and the productivity of the broader community, spurring economic growth," writes the city expert Richard Florida  (citylab).

NYC, LA & Co. could invest their higher tax income - caused by more citizens, more business, more jobs and higher productivity - into their infrastructure, especially subways, which also would keep street noise, pollution & congestion at bay and would raise their attractiveness further.

The growth of mega-cities would raise the consumtion of electricity of course - for subways, electric buses, elevators and such - which today creates already nearly 30% of the greenhouse gases. The US and other countries could follow France which reduced the CO2 emission by generating more electricity by nuclear plants. Today the French create about 80% of their electric power from nuclear plants, which emit zero CO2 (cleantechnica). More electric power from nukes would also lower the cost for electricity and animate more use of it for residential purposes (heating, cooking), which today generates about 10% of the greenhouse gases.  So the rise of mega-cities combined with a revival of nuclear energy would reduce the emission of CO2 significantly

 

Communities, city planers and developers could learn from Singapore, which has to deal with a very limited space (images above). The city-state created a "vertical village",  a building complex that contains 31 stacked’ residential blocks and is six stories tall. The construction includes swimming pools, tennis courts, gardens and roof terraces (independent). If the cities allow much higher buildings and construct vertical villages they would create enough free space between the towers for parks & ponds.

China already realizes these ideas. Metropolises like Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai & Shenzen are already turning into megacities with more than 20 million residents (cnn). Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province (population 14 million), plans to develop into a garden city with lots of parks & gardens between the skyscrapers (telegraph).  China's rulers also plan to weld some communities at the northeast coast together and to create a megapolis, called Jing-Jin-Ji, that would be home to 130 million people and cover an area the size of New England (nbcnews). China`s metropolises are already connected by the world's longest network of high-speed rail lines (13,670 miles), which serve trains traveling 120 mph to 220 mph.

There is still hope for the global climate.