The concrete apartment blocks in that region can look grim from the outside but are frequently well-engineered and nice to live in. The interior layouts are pre

The concrete apartment blocks in that region can look grim from the outside but are frequently well-engineered and nice to live in. The interior layouts are pretty decent with balconies and cross-ventilation, and the use of massive amounts of concrete make them much quieter than US-style wood frame apartments. I suspect one of the design strategies was to use more material to allow use of lower-skill labor under the communist central planning mindset (student work parties etc). The neighborhood layouts also tend to be walkable with shops, playgrounds, transit, libraries, etc all very close.