Everything around us is scale dependent. It's woven into the fabric of the universe. - Geoffrey West

Cities are the crucible of civilization.

Humanity has just crossed a major landmark in its history with the majority of people now living in cities. Cities have long been known to be society's predominant engine of innovation and wealth creation, yet they are also its main source of crime, pollution, and disease. The inexorable trend toward urbanization worldwide presents an urgent challenge for developing a predictive, quantitative theory of urban organization and sustainable development

Once we started to urbanize, we put ourselves on this treadmill. We traded away stability for growth. And growth requires change.