There is no doubt about it. Living in a city will kill you. Whether you consider the over-crowded, polluted cities of Asia with their open crime, violence, corruption and disease infested city-center slums; or opt for a more respectable version given by Western counter-parts, city living is not healthy. And depending on the nature of the suburb – in density of housing; distance from city center; pollution; social problems etc. – the suburb is often not much better either!
1. City living is detrimentally stressful living. There is an optimum level of stress that is beneficial for the human body, and beyond that the human being is quite simply destroyed. While everyone has their own level of optimum stress city living pushes everyone to the limit and usually beyond. The daily pressures of life – from traffic and crowded parking lots; to crime and violence – quite simply destroys the human being mentally and physically.
2. City living is absolutely polluted living. The human being thrives in a non-polluted environment but city living is polluted in every way – from the poor air quality created by traffic, to the noise that never ceases day or night; from the increased germs and diseases thriving in the confined crowded spaces, to the heat and increased temperatures caused by concrete jungles. The pollution of city life quite simply destroys the human being.
3. City living promotes boredom and personal life dis-satisfaction. Cities are often considered to be attractive because they apparently offer entertainment and excitement, cultural experiences and educational opportunities. However, while it may seem that city centers are full of things to do they are not. Over-industralised spaces, with highly structured (rarely free) activities quite simply destroy the human imagination and spirit. Young people are especially plagued by city living; they end up with personal problems (like drug addiction ultimately finances by crime) that would not exist if they were chopping wood and fishing etc. rather than hanging about a street corner.
4. City living prevents human frustration from being resolved. City living is full of frustration and it totally lacks ways that frustration may be resolved. While some individuals may avail themselves of the expensive gymnasiums, or perhaps attempt to walk a mile on noisy dangerous polluted smelly streets to relieve pent-up energy, these activities are not enough to relieve the frustration and anger that builds up in city-dwellers. With no garden to dig, or physically demanding task to do for survival, the human being has no outlet and is emotionally destroyed.
5. City living is expensive and compounds the need to work. An optimum balance between work and play is good for the human being. Unfortunately city-living is expensive living and the balance between work and play is destroyed. More money is needed to sustain life in the city and the human balance is disrupted to pay for the experience of living in the city centre.
6. City living promotes unhealthy jobs. Not only does city living require people work more to sustain their position in the city centre, but the types of jobs that are offerred by city centres are also detrimental to the human being. When you work in the city center forget the rewarding career helping people and being appreciated; jobs in the city are cruel, demanding, pressured and full of sudden let-downs as big businesses suddenly find that they are not so big afterall.
7. City living removes the human being from their natural environment – the earth and its fresh open spaces. Being apart from creation, or exposed only to small artificial open spaces and parks with artificial trees, destroys the human being. There is no wholesome beauty or innocent pleasure in the city; it is an evil environment and far from the world God created.
8. City centre living means an impoverished social life. City centers are places of distrust and suspicion, of looking over your shoulder and fighting out your rights. People rarely help each other in the city centre. It is competitive and forces people to be selfish to survive. Survival in the outer suburbs – and further into the country – usually means helping each other, forming volunteer fire fighting groups, banding together to search for a lost animal etc., and generally having a more cooperative and healthy societal life.
City living quite simply destroys the human being. The quality of human life is degraded on a number of fronts: from the peace and quiet that promotes rest, healing and well-being, to the fresh air that is vital for normal physical bodily functioning; from the social and emotional problems caused by competitive, expensive living, to the unhealthy work-life balance necessary to maintain city centre existence.
While “existence” can be sustained in a city – rather like a fish can be kept alive in a fish bowl – it is a far cry from “living” a life. Human beings are not designed for city center living. Whether we realize it or not is another question! The human being often knows no different and comes to think that crowded, stressful, concrete buildings, traffic, noise, heat, fumes, expensive confined spaces etc. are the human lot. People live and die and often never discover the truth about the evils of the city center.
