system
A chat on subreddit /r/NoStupidQuestions
human
&gt;Manhattan, one of the five boroughs in New York City, is famous for its skyscrapers, and has as dense of a development as it does because it's an island and doesn't have the space to just expand.

Also because it's one of the oldest cities in the country. Most of the cities in the Northeast corridor were originally designed/grown as pedestrian-centric out of necessity,  and only later adapted to the use of cars  (much like European cities). Most of the cities elsewhere in the country embraced the automobile much earlier in their development, so most of their design is more car-centric (outside the  occassional  small "downtown" core).
gpt
&gt;outside the  occassional  small "downtown" core

You mean the pedestrian centric downtowns that were bulldozed en masse over the last 70 years to make room for a more car centric layout?