You’re probably exactly right for the places you’re thinking of, but neither of those things have to be hell. Apartments originally were spacious places like the home-sized ones, the justification for their existence being that you get to live in the city centre rather than that being the only selling point.
If you want to see good examples of big cities with nice levels of public space, look at urban design in south korea and china
Apartments and big cities are hell. People shouldn’t be shoved together like sardines.
You’re probably exactly right for the places you’re thinking of, but neither of those things have to be hell. Apartments originally were spacious places like the home-sized ones, the justification for their existence being that you get to live in the city centre rather than that being the only selling point.
If you want to see good examples of big cities with nice levels of public space, look at urban design in south korea and china
What do you do when your population outpaces your land mass?