Author | Marcos MartínezCultural exchanges between people are a key and essential factor for any region to prosper, including cities. Historic examples illustrate that employability increased in cities interlinked by trade routes and, today, cities with larger population densities follow a similar systemic growth pattern. They create talent rather than attract talent.Cities such as Madrid in Spain, Peking in China or New York in the United States ,generate “geographic rifts” with respect to nearby municipalities, according to the economist Paul Collier, author of the best seller ‘The future of capitalism’ (2018). But, why in cities? Why are people attracted to them? How do they create employment? Why is most GDP growth found in cities?
A high density reduces the cost of services per citizen
Despite the cost of living in a major city being notably higher than in a small town, and that this involves higher salaries, which also results in more costs for companies, a large number of services find it reasonably easy to reduce their costs as a result of the high population density.One of the best examples of this is public transport, which tends to be more efficient and used more in compact cities. In European cities, arranged in concentric layers, we can see how the use of public transport increases as one gets closer to the centre. What impact does this have on employment?When companies based in cities such as Madrid, Peking or New York look for employees, the search radius is not only much wider than in a nearby municipality due to the permeability of public transport. They will also have a greater concentration of talent, regardless of which they are looking for, and urban conditions that enable timetables to be met.The same 35-minute 9.5-kilometre journey between Brooklyn and Washington Square Park on a high-frequency bus route (every 3 minutes), means 59 minutes on a low-frequency bus route (every 40 minutes) for the same length of journey just a few kilometres outside of the city.Transport, the presence of hospitals or the dense and consolidated business sector, are just some examples that show how companies established in highly populated cities can minimise their labour costs, have fewer workers arriving late, falling ill or not being able to resolve their personal problems, respectively; and, in turn, maximise the possibility of having more suitable candidates for the position and more cost effective despite the higher salary.High density: services with improved support and quality of life
Before analysing whether cities create work or attract it, let’s first look at why a citizen in a small municipality would want to move to a large city. The answer has a great deal to do with the preceding paragraph, but this time analysed from the point of view of quality of life.
Large cities, do they create or attract work?

Where people come together, ideas emerge
Steven Johnson, in his book ‘Where good ideas come from: A natural history of innovation’ (2011) indicates that the agglomeration of human diversity in the initial cities was what accelerated innovation processes. Inventions such as the alphabet, the currency, roads, the wheel, the sail, etc. emerged simultaneously in dozens of cities around the world around 7,500 years ago.
Cities continue to accumulate/create GDP
Large cities attract low-skilled workers to cover positions at a better price than in other smaller municipalities, while highly skilled workers travel to cities to enjoy a better quality of life. As a result, the gross domestic product (GDP) balance is increasingly concentrated in high density areas.Like a black hole, which exists because it is a way of minimising the energy of local space, dense cities continue to attract people from all over the country because they optimise their quality of life and work. It does not matter what country we select. All, or practically all of them, follow the same pattern: