Your editorial“NIMBYism shouldn’t stall Charlestown project’’ misses one important point: the uniquely American fear of urban density. When Americans visit Europe, they admire narrow pedestrian-oriented streets and solid urban fabric, but when they come home they want to live in the car-oriented low-density habitat. As a result, our urban sprawl devours the natural environment and stretches our infrastructure, our travel time, and our taxes.

When will our “concerned’’ citizens realize that taller, more compact development creates more open space than flat, big-footprint structures?

People don’t want too much market-oriented housing to enter Charlestown? Welcome to capitalism.

Anatol Zukerman

Plymouth

The writer is an architect.