A big part of the problem is the way big new buildings are designed at street level.

Retail footprints are large and tend to be rented to chain stores and sterile uses like bank branches- especially all of the prominent corner locations. It creates a feeling of boredom and sameness. The retail spaces face the sidewalk with mostly flat panels of glass and no appearance of individuality or interesting human sized features, no awnings or much of anything protruding or creating semi-protected space for outdoor activity. No variety of scale.

Often, one or two sides of a whole block are designed with dead zones that are nothing but loading docks, service zones and mechanical spaces.

Food is relegated to indoor "food courts" (often in windowless basements of all places), or everyone is eating out of trucks (but lots of coffee coffee coffee shops). Stick an "art gallery" here or there with colorful non-threatening works that the people in the adjacent new condos can match with a sofa. Instant "culture".

Plazas and public spaces are nicely planted but usually lack amenities beyond a few benches, if we're lucky. Open expanses offering little incentive to linger there. These neighborhoods from scratch could easily be designed to be more inviting and charming. A place like Hudson Yards provides locals with very few reasons to ever return, after a first curious walk through.