Introduction

Abstract

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book This book discusses the two things: both a general guide to the creation of good spaces for living in tall buildings, and also a pathway to constructing these tall apartment buildings out of engineered timber. The most destructive disease to hit cities in the last two millennia was the bubonic plague, causing death rates as high as 30% in some countries, arriving in waves between the 12th and 17th centuries. The 1918 flu was not caused or spread by cities, but like any highly contagious disease it took advantage of the close proximity of people, spreading rapidly in the troop ships that were returning soldiers back home. Isolation is the key to success, and in this aspect, living in apartment buildings is as safe as living in suburban homes.