(in urban municipalities) Many cities have low-income, over-crowded townships on the one hand, and far less densely populated affluent areas on the other By densifying - that is, developing vacant land and allowing for stands to be sub-divided - the number of people living in more sparsely populated areas can be increased This is a way of giving more people access to land which is already serviced (by transport networks and bulk infrastructure) and increasing the efficiency of the city