Blog Archives
Why is it better to vote independent?
Presumed Dead is political crime fiction thriller that explores this question within a Westminster System government.
Watch this 3-minute book trailer https://youtu.be/wD4dKUA3hKQ
Buy the book from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2BRuAsO
Buy the book from Zeus: https://wp.me/P1z4yo-n
Are large cities more or less safe?
CRIME
Is a city dweller exposed to more violent crime than a country person? Yes, according to Geoffrey West in his book ‘Scale’, Penguin Press 2017. The incidence of crime, instead of doubling for a place with twice the population, it increases by 15% more. Thus a city of 2 millions, compared with a town of 2,000 has not 1000 times more crime, the same per capita, but 10001.15 = 2818 times more crime. City living is much more dangerous. He claims this scaling relationship applies within nations worldwide and that the construction of bland high-rise apartment complexes has often bred alienation and crime.
The political crime fiction novel Presumed Dead illustrates violent crime in a metropolis.
Does city population growth reduce lifestyle?
Consider rocky islands where sea-birds live, such as gannets on Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth, or Frigate birds in the Galapagos. The lifestyles of the birds in their colonies deteriorate as the populations grow, until there is migration to found new colonies, or until hunger or disease reduces the population, or until breeding is prevented by enforced infertility, from crowding, or from rivalry, or from predation.
Successful breeding requires a sufficient food supply, viable spaces for construction of nests where the eggs can be kept secure, incubation of the eggs, nurture and protection of the young from predators, including incursions and predation by the same species. Crowded conditions may result in failure to mate, fewer or smaller eggs and reduced rearing of chicks to healthy adulthood.
Are there other alternatives than city population growth?
The political crime fiction novel Presumed Dead exposes the corrupted political dynamic of lifestyle regression in cities: https://wp.me/P1z4yo-n
Is city living really cheaper?
Advocates of City living and cities like Shanghai (population 24 million) point to economies of scale that result from growth. According to Geoffrey West, in his book Scale (2017), there is economy of scale in infrastructure provision in all cities, with an exponent of about 0.85, so that fewer roads and electrical cables are needed per capita in the bigger city. Thus doubling of city size increases per capita infrastructure costs by 20.85 = 1.80 or 90%. This is not much of a saving for doubling city size, but comparing a town of 2,000 with a city of 2,000,000 the per capita infrastructure cost would increase by 10000.85 = 355 not 1000, or 35.5% which is a significant saving and could explain why it is cheaper to live in cities than towns. Are West’s economies of scale real? His economies may be simply the loss of amenity and transportation in large conurbations compared with country towns.
In the political crime fiction thriller Presumed Dead, the setting exposes the dynamic of city growth: https://wp.me/P1z4yo-n
