Dense Is Better

The Dish today has a surprisingly interesting article comparing dense cities to sprawling cities.  It is fascinating how much better the statistics are for dense cities.  Housing is more expensive but combined housing and transportation are cheaper. 

Residents of compact metro areas also have longer, healthier lives, with lower BMIs, lower blood pressure, lower rates of diabetes, and fewer car crash fatalities. An average American in a more compact county has a life expectancy three years longer than one in a less compact county. All these are observations of correlation, not causation. But they tell a remarkably consistent story. Not only can cities limit sprawl through the use of specific policy tools, but the benefits for their citizens of doing so are real and life-changing.

I would guess I live in a sprawling area with some of the disadvantages that go with it.