It's also easy to forget how big of a deal human health is. If you can spend 5% more energy to unlock 5% more enjoyment and productivity, you can use that extra productivity to engineer better, less polluting systems. If every high density apartment building had a much much higher air and sound quality than the average house, it would also entice more people to live in denser areas.
Moreover, well-built, well-conditioned, comfortable buildings are also very efficient, so the only reason not to build for quality is up-front capital cost, a problem that can be solved with a combination of improved technology and tighter building standards for ventilation and noise.
There should be a way to shop for places to live with an easily comparable air, sound, and comfort quality score, so that there is pressure to improve.
Even during the pandemic their were active protests from companies against higher standards of ventilation where I live, even though the ventilation is already inadequate. Good ventilation would prevent lock downs. An article on this in the NYT by an expert rated that most ventilation is only 3-4 on a scale of ten. 7-8 would prevent a lot of transmission.
Moreover, well-built, well-conditioned, comfortable buildings are also very efficient, so the only reason not to build for quality is up-front capital cost, a problem that can be solved with a combination of improved technology and tighter building standards for ventilation and noise.
There should be a way to shop for places to live with an easily comparable air, sound, and comfort quality score, so that there is pressure to improve.