City size and urban life: a preliminary inquiry into some consequences of growth in American cities.

Abstract

The optimal size of urban settlements has been discussed since the earliest sedentary societies found different families living in proximity to one another. In the fifth century B.C., Plato called for the division of the city into 5,040 lots, each housing a citizen-the maximum number Plato felt could participate in face-to-face governance in the public amphitheatre.’ 1 Aristotle apparently felt this to be too large in number and territory for the adequate pursuit of &dquo;the enjoyment of leisure,&dquo; limiting his ideal city to 10,000 persons of all classes (Mumford, 1961: 172, 185). Currently the residents of American communities from Ramapo, New York to Santa Barbara, California are debating the issue of optimal community size-a debate which is eventuating in the widespread use of public policy to restrict