I just finished an article entitled “The End of New York”...and while it is full of a lot of D’uh’s (Large urban areas are hardest hit by pandemics, and the suburbs and rural areas have natural protections...
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news ... ban-futureCities like New York pay a price for being both dense and cosmopolitan. As a new study from Heartland Forward reveals, the prime determinants of high rates of infection include such things as density, percentage of foreign residents, age, presence of global supply chains, and reliance on tourism and hospitality. Globally, the vast majority of cases occur in places that are both densely populated and connected to the global economy. Half of all COVID-19 cases in Spain, for example, have occurred in Madrid, while the Lombardy region in Italy, which includes the city of Milan, accounts for roughly half of all cases in the country and over 60% of the deaths.
In contrast, suburban, exurban, and small-town residents get around in the sanctuary of their private cars and have far more room inside their houses. They do not usually get lots of visitors from outside, particularly from abroad. Overall, most rural areas around the world have been largely spared, at least for now, due to much less crowding and casual human contact, which abound in cities.
The writer points out that things like the current “work-from-home” growth (tele-work is up massively as businesses try to keep income and employment up) will expedite the outflow of jobs and workers from New York and other cities like Los Angeles and Chicago...Counter-urbanization...
