[EcoVan]

These are not European Solutions...they are simply the way almost everyone lived after cities began to grow. Look at any older U.S. city.. the densities in many areas are now higher than many European cities, especially in Germany where there are sunlight regulations in cities. In fact the densities are so high, that costs are far higher than at more moderate densities that are found in older neighborhoods just outside the central core( think 25 x 125 foot lots).

I'm not saying we should go back to the overcrowding than once occurred and still does in some areas, but there is a place in between that is much healthier than either of the extremes.

Higher efficiency lighting and HVAC systems are not European, they just are what they are. They are just as effective in the US as they are in Europe.