Density in a time of Pandemics
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“Covid-19 is causing us to rethink the future of our communities,” said Sam Gill, Knight’s chief program officer and senior vice president. “People are reevaluating what matters to them. In some cases, the pandemic has left us yearning for the parks and gathering spaces we are now denied. In other cases, it’s leading us to ask how people can safely come together and connect.”
Knight Foundation Publication; New landmark study reveals what ties people to their communities,
May 20, 2020
Kerston on Density, health and safety
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4481042/
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/1/1/95-0102_article
https://ensia.com/features/as-cities-grow-diseases-spread-faster-and-urban-design-key/
Soucheray 3/29/2020 Pioneer Press
Cedar Riverside COVID contagion
Rethinking Nursing Homes
Why did Virus target one Houston area
Density; more than numbers
It's especially critical when a zone which has been lightly occupied is suddenly inundated with growth. Suddenly the costs of such growth become all too real:
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HEAT from high, unbroken glass and concrete surfaces creating urban heat island effects
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NOISE from construction and then supply delivery and waste removal, from greatly increased traffic, auto-theft alarms, backup alarms, impatient drivers, and on and on...
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GRIDLOCK caused by new residents, customers, workers, etc.
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PARKING NO MORE: combine reductions in parking with vast increases in cars; curb sites disappear.
Density Comparison Between St. Paul & New York Land Areas
If the city puts up to 4000 housing units and 7200 people on the Ford site, the population density will be greater per sq/mile than New York City land areas!
Do you really want that in our village?
Hard to believe? Well the U.S. Census doesn't lie...
See chart below for an even further break-down of the most populated census-measured land areas of the country.
This chart breaks down the land area of NYC by incorporated municipalities, towns and villages, and census-designated places (specific smaller land areas within metropolitan areas that the U.S. Census measures). We also inserted the five (5) main NYC boroughs for comparison.
15 of the top 22 highest density census-measured places, including the five main NYC boroughs, are in the NYC metropolitan area.
The Ford site in St. Paul would rank as the 8th densest measured land area in the country in that top 22 (or the 7th densest if the CP Rail area isn't part of the development area).
NYC areas are referenced as the most similar in density to the proposed Ford site - because they are!
