Does city size affect our pace of life?

City size indeed affects our pace of life. According to Geoffrey West, larger cities lead to increased efficiency and a faster pace of life, a phenomenon opposite to what biology suggests. In cities, the larger the population, the faster people walk and talk, and the quicker the overall pace of activities such as economic transactions, innovation, and even crime 1 2.

Michael Shermer also reiterated that as cities grow, the efficiency and speed of human interactions improve. This includes people communicating and moving faster. He explains that larger cities necessitate fewer resources per capita due to increased efficiency, contrasting with smaller towns where everything operates at a slower pace and is less efficient 2.

Reza Shadmehr noted that people tend to walk faster in dense, populous cities such as New York, potentially influenced by the abundance of opportunities and rewards in such environments. The fast pace of others in these cities also pressures individuals to keep up, contributing further to the overall accelerated pace of life 3.

In summary, larger cities with dense populations and more opportunities create faster-paced environments where people walk and interact more quickly compared to smaller towns or rural areas.