I wonder if we should find a word other than &quot;dense&quot; to describe dense urban living. Images like those are exactly what non-urban people picture when they hear &quot;dense,&quot; but it doesn&#x27;t have to be anything like that.<p>For example, I live in one of the densest residential neighorhoods in New York[1], pushing 80k-100k people per square mile, and the buildings largely range from 5-7 stories. I have close access to parks, tree-lined sidewalks, and no skyscrapers blocking sunlight. The buildings and storefronts are varied, colorful, and interesting to walk past: no concrete jungle slabs of grey here.<p>[1] Typical block: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;gettingpurlywithit.com&#x2F;sites&#x2F;gettingpurlywithit.com&#x2F;files&#x2F;imagecache&#x2F;slide&#x2F;images&#x2F;EastVillageNYC9.jpg" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;gettingpurlywithit.com&#x2F;sites&#x2F;gettingpurlywithit.com&#x2F;f...</a>