Density

With all the talk about how suburbs are destroying our country via an inexplicable land grabbing parade, Michael Wolf's photographs of Hong Kong are nothing short of refreshing. Yes, the work can be daunting at times, but the success of Hong Kong is a direct result of stewardship, ie they have no choice. With a mass far smaller than the U.S., architects and planners have to build up and close. As far as sustainability goes, isn't this a good start? Albeit not to the crowded extent represented here, I think we can learn a great deal from the urbanism of the former city-state, and that is another subject unto itself.

One more thing: a small tradition in Hong Kong is to grab every little chunk of buildable land, (even if it's 3 or 4 meters square) and extrude straight up. They call them pencil towers.