Political Memes

Well, this picture is just poor city development. Living in appartement buildings 3-5-7-9 floors high is all very fine, IF

• The neighbourhood is (pedestrian) permeable enough. The space around it must be pedestrian/cycle friendly and green. The blocks in this picture are way to wide, forming too big barriers for local slow traffic
• there is a bit of variation in colour, size, shape. A neighbourhood with such blocks can surely have 4 identical buildings, but not 30... It feels uneasy to humans this way. We need a taller or oddly shaped or nicely coloured one once in a while, as a reference point, as things that give the neighbourhood a bit of an identity
• The buildings themselves are high enough quality (well insulated, every appartement has 1 or 2 real balconies, ...)
• there are plenty of playgrounds and sports facilities and cars are in general carparks in garages at the edge of the neighbourhood, not on the streets
• neighbourhood is well connected to the rest of the city
• there are plenty of jobs in the area. Probably the hardest part.