I had the opposite experience, moving into an older neighborhood deep inside the city, but in an area where there hasn't been much construction for the last 50

I had the opposite experience, moving into an older neighborhood deep inside the city, but in an area where there hasn't been much construction for the last 50 years. The number of birds, small animals, and bugs are astounding - and this is a relatively densely populated location. AFAICT there are two main factors: 1. A nearby stream which is part of a protected greenbelt -- never more than 100m wide or so, but miles long. 2. The fact that the area has not been torn up for construction in a generation, so the plants have had time to overgrow everything. I assume the wildlife largely follows the plants. Of course there aren't any larger animals who need room to roam, because they couldn't survive crossing all the streets. Cars are one of the biggest barriers to wildlife and humans coexisting nicely - or to humans and humans coexisting nicely.