Seems the world is going even more urban. I just read that 55% of the entire world’s population now lives in large cities. By 2050, they project it will be 65%.

Chongquin, China (the sprawl formerly known as ChunKing) is home to something like 38M people or the same number of people as the second largest country on earth – Canada. Greater Tokyo is the largest urban centre at something like 40M. And I am not so sure from the reports that small towns are even counted. Maybe, if they did count them, the percentage of ‘urbanized’ people would be even higher.

The point? Well, maybe there is no point but what does urbanize mean to an individual?

Basically, people first went urban to work and swim in the gene pool but, of course, once there, people tend to stay. Repeat that for a few dozen generations and voila! Cities!!

But back to what urbanization means today. Firstly, it is now synonymous with dependent. Highrise folks do not grow, gather or hunt their own food. Nor do they harvest their own water, deal with their own waste or even fix their own homes. Being urban DOES NOT MEAN weak and useless but it seems to be a place that the weak and useless can thrive and the strong and skilled just go to the gym.

Urban also means something close to defenseless. Urbanites rely almost entirely on police and firefighters, doctors and ambulance drivers to ‘keep them safe’. OK, they also use insurance companies, rules and regulations. And lots of controls. But, generally speaking, a deeply rooted urbanite cannot protect their own budgie from their neighbour’s cat.

Urbanization also concentrates people. That makes them easier targets. Maybe they are NOT consciously targeted because of their density but wars seem to do that every now and then and, when that happens, it is absolutely intentionally. And epidemics and viruses do that naturally. Hell, even a bad urban fire includes way more than just the site of where the fire started.

Urbanization also, ironically, mentally isolates some, if not many. In Britain they have declared an epidemic of loneliness. Seems too many old people live alone and are isolated. And that causes health problems emphasizing mental health problems. Even the homeless feel better and safer in tent cities and groups. So, once you go broke, addicted and nuts, you finally have a (growing) peer group and are not lonely.

Part of isolation, of course, is the kind of work done in cities. Specialization puts space between the janitor and the surgeon, the lawyer and the mechanic. Specialization is a barrier to socialization. Specialization, status-defined neighbourhoods and commuting, mass transit and BIG BOX stores makes social interaction hurried and short if there is any at all. Hard to make friends at a Costco.

Readers know I have this bias. I think you are much healthier away from cities and the most I will concede as a compromise is very small towns. I actually think very small towns are probably the best – better than living isolated and remote – especially as you age. There are enough ‘comforts and services’ for the inadequately-abled but getting to know people from all walks of life is easier and inevitable. A town of 5 to 10,000 feels about right to me. But, to be fair, I am mostly just guessing.

“Dave, what’s your point?” We, as a species, are not being raised, bred, supported, trained, encouraged or even offered a path of being independently able or skilled. We are being programmed to work and live in an artificial society that leaves the majority of people entirely dependent. This is not a recipe for survival of the individual although it does serve the ‘system’ or the ‘machine’ or Big Brother. We have seemingly willingly joined a group ultimately destined for exploitation and then disposal. We are not able to survive in most threatening scenarios and many of those are looming up in the near or middle-distance future.

None of that bodes well.

More doom and gloom? I suppose so (apologies) …but I do not mean it that way. I am just trying to say out loud what maybe still needs saying. You know? Stating the obvious.

“So, what is that?”

Well now, that would be: Get out! GET OUT NOW!!! For most people (and, in ten years, probably Sal and me, too) that will mean a small town.