Yeah, that's inevitable. From the same source I cited above, average densities (people/hectare) for European cities range 50-130, American cities have 5-40, and

Yeah, that's inevitable. From the same source I cited above, average densities (people/hectare) for European cities range 50-130, American cities have 5-40, and the far East has 160 - 275. When I say historic European cities are a sweet spot, I mean, they're the most reasonable density you build up to, without getting into the congestion, traffic and transportation energy problems of Eastern cities. With regards to the midrise model I'm promoting above, I should add it's usually best practise to 'anchor' public transportation nodes like subway stops, with high-rises, so as to compact more density around these areas. Also, while I have yet to see a convincing scheme to successfully integrate affordable housing into downtown, high-demand areas, one of the least-bad incentive schemes is to make them a condition of allowing developers to build tall. Essentially, high-rise has it's place in the city as a useful strategy to increase efficiency of high-demand areas or help create mixed-income areas.