That's a very good point, although I don't think I'm taking it the way you're intending it. I'm taking it as "here are case studies".

I've been to a couple of planned cities (Astana and Pavlodar in Kazakhstan - that was a trip!), and I've been to suburban developments, and there IS a distinct difference, but neither has that... /something/ that established cities have. Ironically, Pavlodar, I felt, had it more, and what I think it it is, is...

...Space for the people to own what they bring. Planned cities don't let you own it, and HOAs don't necessarily give the you the metaphorical space to bring it.

If you don't own it - and not in the simple legal property sense, but the sense of "if I invest myself in this thing, it's not going to be taken away one day" - you won't work on it. If there's no "space", only one vision (and likely one that isn't even present) can exist. Need both.

I think you CAN make a city. )*( does it every year, after all, and while much of that event can't persist year-round, some of the ideas about how to make a city definitely could (I would expect).

This is the opposite of what china would come up with. China tries to consolidate everything in a few very large mega cities: like Shanghai - population 23 million! This gives them more control, which is important to China's government.

per capita, NYC has the smallest carbon footprint in the country.

increasing the population density of existing cities is the most responsible thing we could do, and beyond that, yes, more cities.

Or the UK: Welwyn Garden City, Milton Keynes, etc.