Bapsy, we just don't have right of choice on some spheres of life, so the city dictates us its will in such a way... I mean that...
Of course, it's just an opininon, but I think it's interesting to consider the city to be a living being...
A couple of words about a city being a living being :) There's a genius author Terry Pratchett. He's got a story about too much life in the universe:) Once Death (in the Discworld IT is definitely HE) got sick&tired of his duties and stopped doing his daily routine :) The world accumulated too much life in itself and everything, that wanted to have it, got it. So the cities became alive;) they started to lay eggs to propagate themselves and invent different tricks to decoy citizens :) Nobody knows, how it would end, if Death continued his strikes and moral investigations, but a bunch of wizards was in a real danger. They wanted to get out of the city-being, but unfortunately it was impossible. The creature ate tham or put in a cage, 'cause sitizens MUST live in a city. In short words that's an idea of the story. The author considers that the city adsorb your consciousness, your mind, and if you get stuck in it once, you loose yourself.
I agree.