They tend to fail. Turns out humans don't like being pressed into a fixed life. These communities usually die with demography changes. Most of the past's projec

They tend to fail. Turns out humans don't like being pressed into a fixed life. These communities usually die with demography changes. Most of the past's projects like this, are now desolate and unattractive. Ultimately, it's always down to someone having totalitarian lust building these, but not anticipating changing demographics and lifestyles. In Berlin the <~1920 buildings seem to be the sweet spot for city development. Over the course of a century, they managed to adapt perfectly to a changing city. The living spaces can house a family, luxury minded singles, shared flat collectives, a doctor's office, ... . In the basement you get shops, bureaus, or cheap apartments. Historically, there were livestock living down there sometimes. Berlin once had about a million more citizens living in these buildings. The complexes span economic classes and mix realities, de-ghettofy. And people actually love living in these old buildings still today. They are not the most energy efficient for the high ceilings (huge on living quality and versatility, tho), but the thick walls prove to be not bad at all for isolation. Same for the old windows (Kastenfenster).