The Biological Ledger: The Quest for Growth and the Discounting of Human Health

Stylised blue-green photos of a monk, a pixellated dog, a close-up spore, a person on a hill, a toy robot and a banana wrapped in chains

This series interrogates the critical intersection of environmental health, urban planning, economics, politics and legislation, dismantling the myth that major infrastructure projects and brownfield developments can be engineered into health-neutral territories through simple remediation or symbolic greenwashing. Across developed and emerging economies, it exposes a systemic degradation of public health, revealing how the relentless pursuit of growth is sustained by a collective amnesia about long-term biological, environmental and health costs. At the heart of this inquiry is the argument that our prevailing economic models are built upon a flawed biological ledger; one that systematically discounts both physical and mental health in favour of immediate fiscal gain.