People 'Live Long and Prosper' in Big Cities

New analysis of commuting zone data shows the link between place and life expectancy. Some conclude that big cities and urban environments can improve residents’ longevity, particularly for low-income households.

A new paper by Stanford economist Raj Chetty evaluates the relationship between longevity and income. In analyzing the new data, CityLab found that "the most interesting result of this paper is the strong, consistent positive contribution of several community level variables to life expectancy. Poor people tend to live longer in places with more immigrants, more expensive housing, higher local government spending, more density, and a better educated population."

“Live long and prosper” was Spock’s famous admonition in Star Trek. Together with the earlier research on the connections between place and inter-generational mobility, this new work highlighting the role of community characteristics in influencing life expectancy signals that successful cities may be an important contributor to realizing those twin goals.

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