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Rome may not have invented the apartment block (insula) but they sure were fond of their high density residential/commercial space...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insula_(building)

While being "huge", good European cities are quite homogenous throughout most of the area with 4-6 floor apartment buildings, small businesses in almost every building, parks, schools, good public transport system. They don't feel exactly "huge".

Because ~90% of the population was farming

The principles would be the same even if we concentrated on small cities. A city must promote social diversity to grow the quality of social interaction (even indirect interactions, like walking through a neighborhood built by different ideas and in different styles).

Did Romans enjoy walking to the coffee shop or the grocery store?