It's a question of degree. The way I understand the last part of seydor's point: > Most european cities are old and very high density, built for horses is tha

It's a question of degree. The way I understand the last part of seydor's point: > Most european cities are old and very high density, built for horses is that "high density, at the level of European cities, is a required condition. I take issue with this level of density being a requirement. My point is that said level is too much and, actually, goes against the intended outcome because this much proximity creates tension between the people. Instead, in my view, the optimal level of density is "average", somewhere betwen "US suburbia sprawl" and "European city can't breathe density". Now, of course, "average" is not an actual measure, but it allows at least to eliminate European cities as a model to strive for. I've seen many an article in the local (France) papers talking about increasing levels of solitude, and people always chime in with "Yeah, that's [big city] for you. In my [small town], it's much easier to make new friends".