[throwaway316943]

The problem isn’t total population, its population density. Too much is bad and too little is bad. You could change the total all you want but if everyone decides to live in the same place then you’re stuck with the same problems.

[epistasis]

I would say the reverse: low population rural areas are great, and high density cities are great, but suburban mid-density is the absolute worst of all worlds. It creates massive traffic, consumes unbelievable amounts of land with roads and environmentally destructive lawns, is super high-carbon per person with no way to add effective transit or amenities. It leaves people trapped in homes that they can't leave for any daily errand or commute without hopping in a car, which is terrible for people's health, and as we age it leaves us even more stranded because cars are not good for accessibility. Kids can't play outside on their own because of constant fear of cars, and as they grow the need constant taxiing around town to do any sort of activity or get to and from school. Schools themselves become enormous parking lots twice a day as kids are dropped off and picked up in what has to be the most ridiculous form of transit every conceived: massive SUVs weighing tons, spewing brake dust and exhaust into the lungs of the tiny princes and princesses being chauffeured one by one to their schools.

There is no redeeming the car-dependent suburban style of city planning. Commuter rail suburbs are better, rural life is better small towns are better, urban life is better. But our cars are killing us and we need to look beyond them for a sustainable and healthy future. We will not and do not need to eliminate these places, but we do need to allow transformation.