some of the superblock will have sun at any given moment.

parks are tricky. if they are not busy enough they can at best become a dead zone no one wants to stay around in, and at worst degenerate into a haven for unsavory activities, since no one is keeping an eye on it. parks are basically force multipliers for activity, but it can be a positive or negative relationship.

In Japan, properties have "sunlight rights", so that neighboring properties above a certain height are not allowed to shade them (causing lots of sloped, north-facing roofs). In addition, height of buildings is determined by the width of the fronting street: tall buildings are allowed on trunk roadways, buildings in areas between trunk roads are limited to 3 stories or so. All it all, it makes Tokyo into a large 'collection of small towns', much like Berlin seems to be. Quite pleasant place to live.