I live in the inner city of Chicago. Unlike in much of Chicago, our block's sidewalks are a generous 5 meters from the street and 5 meters from our homes.

I'm grateful for the setbacks, because they allow children to run and bike on the sidewalk without fear of colliding with someone stepping out of a building or a car. The setbacks also allow our block to have street trees, which greatly improve the comfort of walking the neighborhood. The setbacks also allow us to offer amenities to passers-by, such as self-pick herbs and vegetables.

I'm also grateful to not have a party wall, because our home instead gets light and views.

Our block has 25 households (plus a women's group home) on 1.35 ha of land (that number includes street, curb lawn, sidewalk, and alley). And our block is with an 8-minute walk of a stop on Chicago's busiest 'L' line. So I think that blocks can have setbacks and still be very urban.