Loneliness In The City

I cannot help but conclude that loneliness in urban environments is self-inflicted. Modern big cities have an incredible population density per square mile, with enough people within a stone's throw to completely invalidate any argument of "loneliness". Yes, you can hit at least a hundred people within a stone's throw, even if you throw like a girl.

What is it about cities that makes people feel lonely? There are millions of people rushing about at any one time, with apparently nobody feeling the urge to stop and chat. Does this imply that the lack of small talk with random people is what causes loneliness? I think small talk is perhaps one of the biggest time wasters in the social context. Yet if one feels sufficiently inclined to crawl out of the self-inflicted morass of loneliness, one only has to grab the neighbour on the train or bus and irk the poor fella with small talk. Loneliness in a crowd of thousands? I hardly think so.