Overcrowded and Gray: 49 Photos of Cities That Look Miserable

With the worldwide population reaching record highs, you can't help but wonder about the future of modern living. Will there be enough space for everyone? What kind of quality of life will we have? What if the urban landscapes turn into urban H**l?

Bored Panda reached out to Dr. Audrey Tang, a chartered psychologist and author of multiple books, including "Be A Great Manager Now", "The Leader's Guide to Mindfulness," and "The Leader's Guide to Resilience” to discuss these worries. Dr. Tang was happy to share some incredible insights into the state of living today and its prospects in the future.

Dr. Tang explained that houses can be classed as “positional goods.” “This is a term used by economists i.e. goods that people value because of what they can convey to others; and there has been research which suggests that people would be happy to have a 'small house in absolute terms, so long as it was bigger than everyone else’s.' (Solnick and Hemenway, 2005 cited by Foye, 2022 in The Conversation).”

However, Dr. Tang argues that having a safe place to live falls within basic human needs (Maslow, 1943). In fact, a study by the Joseph Rowtree Foundation outlined 3 levels of poverty that Dr. Tang quoted: “Income below minimum standard making it difficult to manage the unexpected; Not enough income (where one falls short of a decent standard of living); Destitution (not being able to afford to eat, keep clean, stay warm and dry).”

According to the best-selling author and spokesperson, many of the places where people currently live fall below that. “Take the example of Hong Kong ‘coffin homes.’ The government calls them ‘bedspace apartments’ – in other words, there is space for a bed. They are legal, although you need a license, and they are not seen as an answer to the housing and cost of living crisis (Hong Kong is one of the most expensive cities in the world), but rather a ‘stop gap’ as people wait for housing,” Dr. Tang explained.

Dr. Tang argues that therein lies two immediate problems: “first, it is not a solution, although it is easy to believe it is; and second, one might say ‘at least they have a roof.’”

Meanwhile, many journalists have investigated the living conditions in coffin homes, “sometimes contributing to what some call ‘poverty [video content]’ because of the ‘shock value’ of the imagery, but those who have taken the time to speak with residents will hear how they ‘feel forgotten’ or for some of the seniors, it’s simply ‘wanting to die,’” Dr. Tang explained.

It brings up another issue and relates to her first point about “positional goods”. “When someone lives in space that is not adequate for their needs, there is a huge judgment and stigma placed around them, made worse if they feel the very nature of a ‘semi solution’ (i.e. ‘at least they have a roof’) is simply a way of being able to sweep the issue under the carpet… a carpet which they do not possess,” Dr. Tang argues.

According to the author, too often – “and this is a bit of an issue in psychology,” she adds – what was a temporary ‘stop gap’ becomes acceptable, and the real problem is overlooked… “Where this plays out in psychology is when organizations or schools have or bring in psychologists to run sessions or see people and no one feels the need to address the root of the toxicity because – there’s a psychologist!”

Dr. Tang told Bored Panda that she started the discussion with this “somewhat political point because we need to recognize that it is not just the effect of the environment at play – human nature, behavior, and stigma will also contribute to wellbeing.” She also argues that there are things that WE CAN do to make a difference, but this requires society to take steps.

Moreover, Dr. Tang noted that we need to make the distinction between a ‘small home’ and a tiny area in which a person has no choice but to live out of poverty. The first one “has access to green space, modern amenities, privacy, and is laid out comfortably for the professional who will often spend their time out of it, or can still afford what the lack of space may hinder.”

And the second refers to “the person who has no choice but to live in a tiny area, with unclean facilities that are shared, little soundproofing, and the reason they are there is because that is all they can afford… and society can see that.”

“We go on holiday and ‘live’ comfortably in our hotel rooms, we camp in less and many of us will have spent time in halls of residence at university,” Dr. Tang said. Yet, she reminds us that we need to remember one thing: “while during those times perhaps we did complain a little about the lack of privacy or the noise, we may always have known that this was temporary and we could afford to go out for the space we needed rather than thinking ‘This is all I’ve got’… and that’s after working in often just as cramped conditions for pay that only affords you that house.” She added that it is a really different situation.

Dr. Tang worked with award-winning master planners who design communities, such as John Goldwyn and Alexandra Steed. “Both have voiced their concerns on modern development from within their field,” the award-winning author said.

She recounted how “Alexandra Steed discussed a project in Essex where ‘...there used to be 30000 hectares of marshland on the edge of the Thames Estuary which protected the land from North Sea storms and surges of water which would hammer the land.’ But people perceived these as wasteland - it was filled with waste, and these marshlands that were efficient at capturing and storing carbon, and home to thousands of creatures with such value - they were squandered.’”

Meanwhile, John Goldwyn gives the example of Dubai, where “...to maintain the coastline the sea needs to be dredged on a frighteningly frequent basis. This is the opposite to resilient design."

Dr. Tang explained that “all this is because of a cacophony of money and ego and to some extent - speed/desperation which leads to 'quick fixes'! Both Alexandra and John continue to promote the importance of understanding the landscape and basing developments on that - which would also help when it comes to protecting nature and doing much to address some of the broader environmental issues - and yet governments do not always seek advice from the very people who can actually help them help others.”

According to the award-winning author, we need to be working in a multi-disciplinary manner, “by seeking input from people who know the environment and who plan resilient cities and communities as their day job(!) - not just for sustainability, but ultimately for survival.”

Having said that, Dr. Tang fears that if we do not take time to listen or take advice because we haven't planned for it, there will be tragic consequences. “We will continue to hide behind the idea of things being ‘unprecedented,’ mobilizing only at the point of crisis and using a ‘quick fix’ - when we could take steps now to build communities later 'where every organism can thrive' (Goldwyn) - and instead panic when the time comes and do things too quickly to put a sticking plaster over the cracks.”

Dr. Tang calls this “short sighted, ego-driven behavior.” And it’s not just going to affect the environment and our wellbeing, but life as a whole. “Is our lifestyle going to become as disposable as single-use plastics - because that's what it looks like to me, and we all know what single-use plastics do!”

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