CDC Suggests Avoiding Open Plan Offices

I also wanted to add that human health comes in many dimensions. Having lived for years in a mega city, it’s clear to me that it is bad for my mental and physical health. There is something spiritually and mentally freeing about lower density cities and the balance they strike. They also encourage you to experience the outdoors more. The character of smaller cities - like open air, outside the shadows of high rises or even mid rises, with ample green spaces, private homes with backyards, etc. are a massive boon to overall health.

I view overurbanization as a fad that we will ultimately pull back from as we return to seek the basics and a connection to a simpler existence. Or maybe that’s just my hope.

The problem was bad leadership, not density. If you care about health, life expectancy in NYC is significantly above the US average.

I remember when Microsoft started recruiting heavily in SV (for Redmond positions) in the late 80s. They even had radio spots where the narrator touted that "you will have an office! With a door! That you can close! So you can THINK!"

My first programming job was in a newly remodeled info services center (in the core of an old 300,000 sqft building), where two developers shared large cubes with desks facing away from each other and plenty of built-in storage. Actually great for concentration. Later, I was in a single-large-cubicle-each environment or shared offices. I have yet to work a desk job in an open office plan, and I can only imagine how inherently distracting that it.