Far too many people can't afford houses anymore. The house we had in the country was on 5 acres (mostly forested; we had wild animals that came around, which is why I was never allowed beyond the tree line alone). It was miles out of the city, half-snowed in during parts of the winter, but we did have a white fence and room for a dog and four geese (which made better watch animals than the dog). Milk was delivered, and the mailman came 6 days/week, both delivery and pickup. We had a well with clean water that tasted incredible. People who have only had tap water in cities have no idea.
I didn't have any other kids around to be noisy with, and much of my play time happened either with my grandmother (always up for a game of catch) or in my imagination. But there was certainly enough room for it.
Apartment buildings here can't be adult-only anymore, so the companies that own them should realize that they have to provide amenities for kids. A swing set and sand box would be great here, but I'm guessing that because there are playgrounds nearby (medium walking distance for older kids, a bit far for little kids), they don't think it's a big deal. Someone suggested letting the kids play in the social room, but that would mean paying someone to supervise them. There's a fitness room here, but kids aren't allowed in there unsupervised.