Conformism People of course network beyond their immediate area, often with thousands of others. Without a binding force, society would fall apart as each individual or group pursues its own interests. For EP it was the instinct to conform which caused cooperative tribes to survive and selfish tribes to die out. It enabled tribes to act with a common purpose, and it is one of the attributes which set us apart and allowed our species to dominate all others. And it led to the development of culture.
Conformism is therefore at the heart of human nature.
This is a massive claim for an instinct that we often regard as an insult. The instinct to conform can blind us to the obvious. To take an important example - a child can work out that a world economy based on growth can not be sustained for her lifetime, whereas an adult conforms to the accepted mantra and even the suggestion makes him angry. When we eventually abandon growth as the basis of our economy, urban planning will of course have very different objectives. This argument also underlines the importance of mixed-use development.