Hubs.
A hub with 10-15 fleshed out people makes sense. An entire ""city"" that's like 5 building and 10 people is just too much for suspension of disbelief.
I agree, I think I mentioned before the Deus Ex setup is my favorite for this type of game. Even then though you have gameplay contrivances like vans blocking the street or closed tunnels or whatever else. In the end there's a "gamification" in every game. I don't think Outer Worlds is particularly bad at this for its genre. Its problems in that area are firmly rooted in not having the budget to build a bigger and more elaborate world, IMO.