LogFAQs > #902584680

Jen0125 posted...

There is lots of space left in China that people just choose not to live in.

"Choose" not to live in is a strong word.

In some cases, there are regions where people avoid settling because the environment itself is too harsh by human standards for viable habitation. Whether it be too hot or too cold, too dry, too mountainous, or relatively infertile, there are going to be a lot of places where you simply cannot live without making massive sacrifices.

In other cases, lack of access or support infrastructure may make certain areas infeasible. Even if you have a perfect valley where the temperature is always lovely, the ground is fertile, and there is ample fresh water available, it may not be an acceptable location simply because there's no easy way in or out - and if no one lives there, than the first settlers will have no real access to outside medical facilities or trade to support them.

Australia is an extreme example of that sort of thing (with most of the population on the coasts because the interior is so harsh), but even in the US there are large swathes of land that are pretty much empty for one reason or another.

Humans tend to live in clustered cities because it's one of the most efficient ways (if not always the most plefor large groups of people to live.

(It's also part of why people tend to move INTO cities when an economy is on the downturn, but OUT of them when the economy is strong enough for people to pay more and live in suburbs.)


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