Source: The Future is not Retro | Pedestrian Observations, by Alon Levy
People who dislike the auto-oriented form of cities can easily romanticize how cities looked before mass motorization. … If you want to see what 21st-century [transit-oriented development] looks like, go to the richer parts of East Asia, especially Tokyo, which builds much more housing than Hong Kong and Singapore. … There are clusters of high-rise buildings next to train stations, and lower density further away, even small single-family houses fronting narrow streets far enough from train stations that it’s not economical to redevelop them. … There’s a lot more demand 100 meters from the station than two kilometers away, enough that people pay the construction cost premium for the 20th floor 100 meters from the stations in preference to the third floor two kilometers away.