I tend to agree; if the author wants to look at any Asian capitals as a model, Tokyo and Singapore would seem like better choices. Both feel substantially less

I tend to agree; if the author wants to look at any Asian capitals as a model, Tokyo and Singapore would seem like better choices. Both feel substantially less claustrophobic than Seoul or Hong Kong, and I think Singapore fits especially well with its emphasis on quality of life factors. Instead of maximizing land utilization, for example, most residential buildings make allowance for amenities like gardens and pools. The government encourages (and in some cases, subsidizes) mixed-use development and has aggressive targets for increasing the already considerable amount of green space in the city. Frankly, at street level, there are a lot of places where you'd have a difficult time telling the difference between Singapore and LA or Miami.