[jmull]

> I actually have no idea how big teams work on large C++ codebases.

They choose a memory management strategy and stick to it. Of course, the problem, relative to something like rust, is the compiler doesn't enforce it. You can use linting tools and/or reviews.

> Usually, you need to have a good idea of how the whole thing works. You can change one part of the code, and it will introduce bugs in the whole project

That's not a problem with C++ specifically. That's a problem with organization. It's probably best know as the "Big Ball of Mud" architecture[1]. Rust has no particular defense against it, nor other languages that I am familiar with. If you don't see it as much with rust it's only because it takes time to develop. (counter-intuitively, it's an impressively successful architecture -- so many long-lived projects use it).

[1] http://www.laputan.org/mud/