@peely: great post illustrating the challenges.
I find it sad that ax grinding on an unrelated topic has infiltrated a discussion of flying. Request the obsession with folks on the east side of the pond over the rules on the west side of the pond return to JB where it fits nicely.
About lawyers and the FAA: just because the litigation hasn't become unbearable may or may not coincide with "how the FAA does it" being a good template to cut and paste on the east side of the pond. The general risk level accepted as "normal" on the west side of the pond may not be the same on the east.
I had an epiphany: this thread, regarding very built up areas and singles, seems an interesting companion to the long running Yank basher thread regarding single engine helicopters operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Same number of engines, completely different operating environment.
Only flew single engine Helicopters in training (twins after). Due to my training I was paranoid of built up areas. As a student, you almost got spring loaded to "there goes your engine" on training flights, and so developed the attitude of mentally flying from one emergency field/spot to the next as one flew various VFR training routes. Built up Urban areas had few to none. Where we were most roads in areas like that had wires a-plenty near to the roads. What's different now from then is that engine reliability has, in general, improved. Likelihood of an event is less, even though severity of an event remains similar. (Referring to risk assessment matrix).