thing is, such projects do affect sociopolitical edges of the society. The architecture can influence how people meet, how they protest, how they receive/buy th

thing is, such projects do affect sociopolitical edges of the society. The architecture can influence how people meet, how they protest, how they receive/buy the goods, how easy is it to suppress people that doesn't follow what central party says, etc... Physically, if the environment allows it, there are no reasons to not expand in disc/square form compared to a straight line. You get more economic activity per sq km, more viable public transit, more options to reach same destination and more options to create different business activities and all of this is due to higher density while maintaining high commute speed. It also makes maintenance and infrastructure cheaper(because you are not limited to a line)