Why is this not the solution?

[PredatoryCatgirl]

They didn't stop to think what makes real world neighborhoods feel active and populated then incorporate those things into the wards to keep them busy.

Wards don't feel like neighborhoods. They feel like abandoned towns. I'd be happier living in an isolated part of the countryside than living in a suburb where no one else goes.

The original intent wasn't to have 30 players in a neighborhood, but 30 FCs. They should have never made wards open to players, and instead made instanced housing for them.