[snailmailstare]

You can build real high density urban places outside an old city center and they can function quite a bit better in terms of neighborhood restaurants, schools, markets, etc..

There are plenty of places where the old city is not all that vibrant or interesting (and where a family is so rare the question is how to get the few kids to a lively district every morning) and I don't have a fiddle small enough for the owner's opportunity loss.