How much “space” does one person, or even a family need? When you were in those cities, where did you stay? There is a big difference between visiting a downtown core and living in a near-to-downtown neighborhood. Still not everyone’s cup of tea, sure, but if we all lived in an acre property we would collectively go bankrupt from infrastructure costs alone.
So don’t live in a city. But for those of us who do, and enjoy doing so, our cities shouldn’t be built to cater to you, they should be built around catering to those of us who enjoy living in them.