I disagree. Living in a dense city does not necessitate living in some sort of tenement and being at each other's throats. Living costs are high in cities because people who bought property early like it that way. They want their properties to appreciate, so they prevent others from increasing supply. Governments seem happy to object out of some mistaken sense of social justice or historical preservation.

Still, people in dense cities who endure higher living costs tend to be happier and healthier than those outside of them (even when controlling for income). People are willing to pay crazy amounts of money to live there for a reason, after all.

I wish we could build new cities. That would provide an opportunity to do it right, and with a design that is appropriate for the 21st century.