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Risky Climate

Cities Hold the Key to a Low-Carbon Economy

The pandemic has led to some obituaries for urban living, but metropolises are still the most desirable and climate-friendly places to reside

People sit in circles to observe social distancing in Domino Park in Brooklyn, with a view of the Manhattan skyline, on July 26, 2020.

People sit in circles to observe social distancing in Domino Park in Brooklyn, with a view of the Manhattan skyline, on July 26, 2020.

Photographer: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images
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I’m writing this at 4:30 a.m. in 750 square feet, shared with my gynecologist spouse, Siri, and two kids. The timing is a necessity, thanks to the utter U.S. failure to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. The size was a choice.

We moved from an already small apartment—small, that is, by U.S. realtor standards, large by any other measure—to an even smaller one last year. Living in the middle of everything in downtown Manhattan is an enormous luxury, even—or especially—during the Covid-19 pandemic.