I don&#x27;t know where you are or where you&#x27;re from, but this reads to me like you&#x27;d really enjoy New York City.  Not everyone likes big cities, of course, and not all big cities will match my explanation.  But bare with me for a moment.<p>I spent the majority of my twenties and some of my thirties in NYC, and it does match up very well with what you&#x27;re saying.  It definitely matches the habits I was alluding to as well.<p>I&#x27;ve spent many a night on different roof-tops around the city.  Most people have tiny apartments, so we tended not to visit one another, except for the occasional golden jewel of apartment - rooftop access.  During the summer, there&#x27;s almost always someone throwing a rooftop party, and we visited often (or had our own).<p>Likewise, the parks are everywhere.  They&#x27;re immense, amazing, well-maintained, and well-visited by people from all walks.  I&#x27;ve spent day-after-day in Union Square, Prospect Park, Central Park, whatever that park is along the entire West-Side-Highway, and Battery Park (amazing sunsets).  Sometimes just to people-watch and sometimes to meet up with friends as we figure out our next adventure, but always an inviting place to be.<p>There was also a trend in NYC - as I was leaving a few years ago - to start replacing major streets with pedestrian parks [1] (including Broadway in times square!), which I was 100% all for.  Most locals I&#x27;ve known have been huge fans of getting cars out of Manhattan and making the streets more pedestrian-friendly, whether it be through tolls or just plain closing off major thoroughfares.<p>And honestly, after living in 4 major cities around the US, there is nothing like going for a long walk around NYC.  I&#x27;m in Chicago now, and walking more than 1.5 miles can get a bit tedious.  I still do it in the warmer months, but it&#x27;s still very much a driving city.  In NYC, 1.5 miles is always interesting.  You&#x27;ll pass through three or more distinct and lively neighborhoods along the way.  There are so many people out, so many buskers and people enjoying cafes and parks, that you _want_ to walk everywhere.   There are plenty a night, while I was single and dieting, that I&#x27;d walk all the way home after a night out - through Lower Manhattan, over the Williamsburg bridge, and about another mile to Bushwick.  Loved it every time.<p>At any rate, my post wasn&#x27;t in disagreement.  It was merely an anecdotal description of _why_ we end up in commercial establishments in our younger adult lives.  Overall I agree with you, and what I&#x27;m explaining above is that I&#x27;ve seen some form of what you seem to see as an ideal in action, and I&#x27;m an enormous fan of it.<p>1: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pps.org&#x2F;reference&#x2F;broadway-boulevard-transforming-manhattans-most-famous-street-to-improve-mobility-increase-safety-and-enhance-economic-vitality&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pps.org&#x2F;reference&#x2F;broadway-boulevard-transforming...</a>