What have cities ever done for us?

[Ethelred]

Think about it.

Close living and small houses, higher rents, less green space, increased air pollution densities, disease, vermin, concentrations of rubbish and sewage, hours stuck in traffic, ghettos, greater crime rates etc etc.

So what have cities ever done for us?

 

[Carmona]

You serious lad??

Ability to walk to pubs, restos, museums, libraries, Universities, schools, friends' houses and so on.

And before anyone tries to say that's bullshit, I used to walk to all of those in my Cork days. Cork being a fine small city like.

Ok, museums in Cork might be reduced to museum.

 

[Donald Trump]

You serious lad??

Ability to walk to pubs, restos, museums, libraries, Universities, schools, friends' houses and so on.

And before anyone tries to say that's bullshit, I used to walk to all of those in my Cork days. Cork being a fine small city like.

Ok, museums in Cork might be reduced to museum.

Not to mention a concentration of industry and commerce, which leads to invention and innovation, allowing most people today to live a better quality of life than a king or queen 100 years ago.

Let's all go back to thatch cottages though.

 

[Ethelred]

You serious lad??

Ability to walk to pubs, restos, museums, libraries, Universities, schools, friends' houses and so on.

And before anyone tries to say that's bullshit, I used to walk to all of those in my Cork days. Cork being a fine small city like.

Ok, museums in Cork might be reduced to museum.

Let's look at your points.

Most rural people can walk to a pub/ school/ friends house etc.

University classes can be taken remotely or in blocks.

There is also a good reason that there are so many buses, taxis and cars in our fine small city - people need them.

 

[Ethelred]

Not to mention a concentration of industry and commerce, which leads to invention and innovation, allowing most people today to live a better quality of life than a king or queen 100 years ago.

Let's all go back to thatch cottages though.

The concentration of people in industry derived from the Mills in England. Mill owners wanted a lot of labour working long hours for pittance - including child labour working 12 hour days/ 6 days a week.

I doubt those kids came up with too much innovation.

 

[Donald Trump]

The concentration of people in industry derived from the Mills in England. Mill owners wanted a lot of labour working long hours for pittance - including child labour working 12 hour days/ 6 days a week.

I doubt those kids came up with too much innovation.

Ethel. What device are you talking to me on? Do you think this device could ever have been invented, if we'd all stayed tilling the land?

 

[Ethelred]

Ethel. What device are you talking to me on? Do you think this device could ever have been invented, if we'd all stayed tilling the land?

"And he gave it for his opinion, that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together."

Jonathan Swift

In short, the iPhone would not have fed us during the famine.

Also bear in mind that the inventions and innovations were happening not in overcrowded cities, but in the country houses of the wealthy, e.g. the telescope in Birr Castle.

 

[Donald Trump]

Ah, there was me being all serious and all. My mistake

 

[richiepurg]

You serious lad??

Ability to walk to pubs, restos, museums, libraries, Universities, schools, friends' houses and so on.

And before anyone tries to say that's bullshit, I used to walk to all of those in my Cork days. Cork being a fine small city like.

Ok, museums in Cork might be reduced to museum.

There's a very good museum at Collins Barracks.

 

[King Silkbeard]

Think about it.

Close living and small houses, higher rents, less green space, increased air pollution densities, disease, vermin, concentrations of rubbish and sewage, hours stuck in traffic, ghettos, greater crime rates etc etc.

So what have cities ever done for us?

All you say was true of towns once before only when they got too big and unruly did the rubbish pile up, larger families left and moved into the tenements and hunger was widespread. For every farmer that well off many more could not feed their children and became evicted.