ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the relationship between overcrowding and illness and social pathology is not nearly as simple or unidirectional as the current excitement over the phenomenon of the "behavioral sink" among rats and mice has led people to believe. It summarizes the major bodies of evidence that have offered support to the view that overcrowding is bad for health and indicates that the evidence is not substantial. The chapter proposes a model for identifying the critical factors other than population density that determine the response of the human organism and of human groups to overcrowding. It also argues that individuals higher up in the status hierarchy, regardless of the density levels under which they live, are less likely to suffer from bad health. The chapter shows that people who live in more cohesive communities are healthier. In many studies the more densely settled urbanized populations evidenced superior health to the lower density rural populations.
