Density is not only experienced by residents but also actively produced through their discursive and material practices

23 Feb 2026

While there is a long and varied history of research on urban density, there is little work examining how
high-density urbanism (HDU) is perceived and experienced among marginalized residents. Yet, paying
attention to how residents understand density offers important insight into what density is and how it
matters for cities.

This paper develops the concept of “density textures.” We ask: how do people understand and relate to high-density urbanism? And what does understanding people’s relations to high-density teach us about density’s role in urban life? In doing so, we aim to advance understanding of density in Urban Studies. Density textures, therefore, are not merely abstract constructs but are grounded in the lived experience of urban space.

We examine how residents on the urban economic margins understand, struggle with, respond to, and challenge densities of people and things. To capture the range of issues residents attach to high densities, we work with an expansive conception of density, including densities of people (in the home, street, and neighborhood), densities “on the move” (on foot, or on public or private transit), and densities in public spaces in the neighborhood and beyond.

Our focus is on how high-density urbanism becomes a concern for residents, whether for good or bad. We began with the position that residents do not simply respond to density; they shape it discursively and materially as a lived process that is co-produced by people, urban form, materials, history, politics, economy, culture, and environment. Moreover, we sought to explore how residents relate to density in multiple ways, not just as an instrumental “problem” (e.g. congestion, pollution), but as a “solution” and “resource” too, and how people might hold both these senses of high-density simultaneously. Drawing on an empirical snapshot of the highly dense Barangay 105 in Manila, HDU is shown to simultaneously support social and economic life while generating hazards, risks, and anxiety.

We hope that the concept of density textures may serve as a useful framework for developing a broader research agenda on density as it is lived and experienced. This approach opens up possibilities not only for conceptual development—such as the notion of density textures, which expands the vocabulary of high-density urbanism—but also for informing policy and practice in ways that are more closely attuned to residents’ lived experiences.

Authors: Collin McFarlane (Department of Geography, Durham University), Kristian Saguin (Department of Geography, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman) and Kaloy Cunanan (Department of Geography, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2024.2401715

Image by Ferdie Cayanga from Pexels

Density is not only experienced by residents but also actively produced through their discursive and material practices

While there is a long and varied history of research on urban density, there is little work examining how
high-density urbanism (HDU) is perceived and experienced among marginalized residents. Yet, paying
attention to how residents understand density offers important insight into what density is and how it
matters for cities.

This paper develops the concept of “density textures.” We ask: how do people understand and relate to high-density urbanism? And what does understanding people’s relations to high-density teach us about density’s role in urban life? In doing so, we aim to advance understanding of density in Urban Studies. Density textures, therefore, are not merely abstract constructs but are grounded in the lived experience of urban space.

We examine how residents on the urban economic margins understand, struggle with, respond to, and challenge densities of people and things. To capture the range of issues residents attach to high densities, we work with an expansive conception of density, including densities of people (in the home, street, and neighborhood), densities “on the move” (on foot, or on public or private transit), and densities in public spaces in the neighborhood and beyond.

Our focus is on how high-density urbanism becomes a concern for residents, whether for good or bad. We began with the position that residents do not simply respond to density; they shape it discursively and materially as a lived process that is co-produced by people, urban form, materials, history, politics, economy, culture, and environment. Moreover, we sought to explore how residents relate to density in multiple ways, not just as an instrumental “problem” (e.g. congestion, pollution), but as a “solution” and “resource” too, and how people might hold both these senses of high-density simultaneously. Drawing on an empirical snapshot of the highly dense Barangay 105 in Manila, HDU is shown to simultaneously support social and economic life while generating hazards, risks, and anxiety.

We hope that the concept of density textures may serve as a useful framework for developing a broader research agenda on density as it is lived and experienced. This approach opens up possibilities not only for conceptual development—such as the notion of density textures, which expands the vocabulary of high-density urbanism—but also for informing policy and practice in ways that are more closely attuned to residents’ lived experiences.

Authors: Collin McFarlane (Department of Geography, Durham University), Kristian Saguin (Department of Geography, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman) and Kaloy Cunanan (Department of Geography, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2024.2401715

Image by Ferdie Cayanga from Pexels