The city of the living or the dead: On the ethics and morality of land use for graveyards in a rapidly urbanised world

Different religious practices sport varying beliefs and principles regarding death, but many of them converge towards the burying of the dead to help in the ascent towards a peaceful afterlife. As documented in various anthropological works, this practice has been perpetrated in the Anthropocene, but is primarily dictated by religious grounds; which is a driver of sociological mannerism through psychological means. However, as the world witnesses unparalleled demographic growth, coupled with a proportional urbanisation rate, land space is becoming scarce; hence leading to a surge in property prices which drives housing unaffordability and societal inequity; which ultimately impacts on liveability levels and economic growth. This paper explores the case of the city of Queens in New York and dwells in, through a review of literature, the contemporary discourse in ethics and morality as to the question of who is more important to be housed, the living or the dead, in contrast to contemporary issues of rising importance regarding urbanisation relating to land scarcity, gentrification, and housing unaffordability.