That's actually a big thing I'm into, and especially with the urbanist movement. People in America are very isolated, we live in suburbia, we drive our cars to work, and we work with our tight group of coworkers. We don't have third places anymore where you meet the people who live around you, and most don't take transit and aren't in an urban core so you aren't surrounded by people like you. Our neighborhoods aren't mixed in terms of wealth either, so when you do see a neighbor, you're seeing a mirror of yourself - someone who could afford a similar home in a similar region, and probably is just like you. So everyone becomes the other, and everything becomes very scary. It's probably why I feel fine walking through downtown. Everyone around me are just people like me, and by going out it reinforces that.