Florence might be the better urban form. The question is not just which one is better, but also for whom it is better. For a social twenty something urban dweller it probably is, but for the average household family? I doubt it. While I detest the single-zone suburban form because of the (negative) effects it has on the city and its society, its demand is undeniable. Most families will want their private, spacious property. Getting rid of suburbia will not rid us of that demand. Rather, I think there's a lot to be gained by scaling down suburbia to reasonable property sizes. Reduce the footprint of properties and focus more on walkable medium density mixed-use developments for families. Expecting the general population to somehow go from suburbia to something remotely like Florence is unreasonable, I think. Even in the lively and dense urban core that I live in there's hardly any families living here. Different people have different needs, and it is those needs that are used to to change the urban form.