Architecture can be a psychological tool of oppression. I think there's a term for that. But I'm a fan of Star Wars, which could use a few barbed-wire guardrails.
Yes it was the city, the companions and something I still haven't seen else where, a story told over a long period of time. Letting the story take place over 10 years really opened up the way consequences to your choices could play out. And you don't have to rationalize away people going from 0 to 100 because the story needs this act to be over now.
