Nature has enormous emotional and cognitive benefits on people
This is the sort of thing I think about when the pro-urban/pro-density/anti-car people talk about their vision for the world. I live in a city now, and the lack of substantial nature is suffocating to the extent that I plan to move. The idea that we should all live this way to conserve space—a resource which is only scarce in these urban places—seems excessive to put it mildly.EDIT: A lot of urban folks are rebutting my “substantial nature” complaint with references to their city’s parks, which is amusingly illustrative of our differing perspectives. I was thinking “mountains and forests”, not just green spaces scattered amid the concrete.EDIT 2: A lot of urban folks are talking like the suburbs are swallowing up the countryside. I’m sure they’ve grown, but it’s still a big world out there people. I can’t recommend a cross-country road trip enough. Y’all need to leave your cities once in a while and see the world that you have such strong opinions about! :)