You say "every" urban area, but I've been to enough American cities to know this isn't true.
Phoenix? Cleveland? Kansas City? Denver?
They're parking lots with buildings sprinkled here and there. Density isn't even a priority. Land values are too low to promote higher density.
A lot of this has to do with the fact that Boston, Manhattan, and San Francisco are geographically constrained, they're hemmed in by water. Chicago is like this to a degree, but has sprawled enough that it's irrelevant for the most-part.
It is shocking how many cities view their landscape as worthless, paving it over instead of constructing something that contributes to the betterment of the city. Though when cars rule, concessions must be made. Nobody seems to care about the people who live and work in a city.
Phoenix? Cleveland? Kansas City? Denver?
They're parking lots with buildings sprinkled here and there. Density isn't even a priority. Land values are too low to promote higher density.
A lot of this has to do with the fact that Boston, Manhattan, and San Francisco are geographically constrained, they're hemmed in by water. Chicago is like this to a degree, but has sprawled enough that it's irrelevant for the most-part.
It is shocking how many cities view their landscape as worthless, paving it over instead of constructing something that contributes to the betterment of the city. Though when cars rule, concessions must be made. Nobody seems to care about the people who live and work in a city.