I actually like the idea of a commie block. Yeah, it is definitelly not a perfect solution, and when your neighbour is bad, it sucks 10 times more in here, but the advantage of housing 100s of people right in the middle of the city does in fact give you a unique kind of lifestyle. (It especially helps with travel times to work for example.)
@icedquinn
Yeah, the maintanance is a real issue. But I believe, that kinda falls into the "first try" kinda problem. If the commie blocks were build with a bit more investment, and a few iterations of design, I am sure they could hold for centuries in the same way as normal houses do.