My sense is that density is a misunderstood characteristic of successful cities. I think most people see it as a bug. They see some of the negative externalities associated with cities, such as traffic congestion, and they assume that the culprit is too many people.

But they are confusing population density with land-use inefficiencies. This, I can only assume, is why some people arrive at the selfish conclusion that their city is full.

There are, of course, many counterexamples to this line of thinking. Paris, Seoul, Barcelona, Singapore, Tokyo, and many others have both high population density and are viewed as being highly livable and desirable cities.

Not all high-density cities are livable, but that's because other ingredients are missing. I will remind you that Tokyo once again placed first in Monocle's annual quality-of-life survey this year.

What I think gets missed are the following three key features of urban density.

One, dense cities dramatically lower the cost of delivering infrastructure over the long term and reduce per capita energy consumption.

Two, cities are wealth-generating machines and density drives "agglomeration economies." Put smart and entrepreneurial people in close proximity to one another, and good things happen.

Three, the only way to create an enormous, well-functioning city like Tokyo is on the backbone of transit. And the only way to make transit viable and convenient for most people is to build density all around it. Density is the unlock that makes it all possible.

Ironically, then, density is what can make cities feel less congested and more livable.

Cover photo by Agathe