Quite an interesting article on Roman architecture and town planning at the BBC.
But the short answer is "No".
However old or new a settlement, it is nearly always the case that they are/were more densely built up in the center than at the outer edges, in other words, taller buildings and smaller gardens. This applies to Egyptian towns, Anglo-Saxon villages, prehistoric sites, ancient Rome, modern Rome, London or anywhere else. The 'centre' is not always the geographical center of course - so the 'centre' of an English seaside town is the beach and the pier; the center of a port is the actual harbor etc.
Why? It is because location values are higher in the centre, so for a given budget, people are prepared to sacrifice space for convenience. And traders have to be in the center where the "market" is anyway, especially if they are dealing in commodities stored elsewhere (so physical space barely matters).
Debate Magazine
