Congested Cities vs. Sprawl Makes You Fat: Unpacking the Health Effects of Planning Density

Abstract

Since the contemporary version of urban planning emerged in the nineteenth century, the field has been centrally concerned with the issue of density. Planners have variously tried to solve problems created by densities that were too high or too low, manipulate densities via regulations and infrastructure investments, and search for optimal density patterns to achieve social and environmental goals. Density has been of particular interest because, depending on the topic, different density levels and types appear to cause problems or create benefits, can typically be measured and compared with some precision, and are amenable to manipulation via the toolkit of urban and regional planning strategies. Here, Forsyth defines and classifies planning-related densities proposing that measured planning-relevant densities come in two types--discrete and proportional--both with area in the denominator of the calculation.