Urban formUrban form and architectureArchitecture shape and are shaped by the relationship between public and private life in cities. However, over the past century, the relationship between buildings and public space has drastically transformed—rarely for the better. To demonstrate the key role of trust for street-level architectureArchitecture, this chapter studies the changing urban ground floor morphology in Detroit, São Paulo, and The Hague through diachronic Nolli plans. While at first sight, these cities represent vastly different conditions and histories, each city shows remarkably similar forces that influence the public-private interface. No matter the economic or cultural conditions; economic change, social disaffection, and unbridled land consolidation coupled with technological erosion universally prompt what Australian urbanist Kim Dovey has coined densityDensitywithout intensity. The three cities in this chapter demonstrate that understanding these drivers and their internal dynamics forms the key toward reinstating a truly urbane architectureArchitecture—a symbiosis between buildings, citizens, and the city.