In a 2008 New Scientist interview, environmental activist David Suzuki discussed how the maximum population our planet could sustain with “Western” lifestyles could be as low as 200 million. Could this number provide the goods and services necessary? … What is the minimum town size likely to have the range of retail goods and services, plus advanced medical facilities, that you may desire or need? In the UK, this is maybe in towns with a population of around 300,000, the size of Nottingham.