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A city can be seen as an attempt to solve the predicament that is human existence. No building can solve all problems, and as soon as we come up with what we think is a solution, we are faced with a new (often far worse) set of problems. Historically cities have been compromises. 
Take old Edo for example (modern Tokyo). It was built to withstand earthquakes, typhoons, pests, rains, floods, and intense summers, but the wooden architecture with which they solved these problems made the city (the largest on Earth) extra vulnerable to fire.
By building to solve some problems, they had encountered others. A compromise was needed, and in the densely populated Japanese towns merchants and farmers built these "kura", immensely compact earth, bamboo, and plaster warehouses. Any family who could afford it, built it.
Situated in the back of each plot, these kura would form clusters of virtually fire proof shelters where valuables and merchandise would be kept safe as soon as the fire alarms sounded. Even if everything else burned, these kura and the possessions of the family would survive.
The massive walls were plastered inside and out, and also served to protect the interiors as the inside temperatures would be relatively stable. The plaster kept bugs and mold away, perfect for storing cloth, food, etc. Windows and doors were made to give an almost airtight seal.
To make the kura perfectly airtight in case of fire, the owner kept buckets of wet mud by the entrance. This would be smeared around windows and doors as the fire approached, the final preparation before evacuating the neighborhood. Invariably, the kura and its contents survived.
The kura was built with a clay and plaster envelope, covering even the roof. The roofs we can see were disposable, even if it all burned off, the kura would be intact. In rural areas some kura were even thatched, as this beautiful kura in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward.
However, kura were vulnerable to rain (again, nothing is perfect: compromises), so a solution with a wooden wall was devised, which would be hung rather than attached to the clay envelope. In case of fire, it would be simply lifted off and discarded. It is also beautiful.
So why would not everyone build these and just live in them? Well, they were just too expensive, dark, not for everyday life. But their stable indoors made them perfect for brewing and food storage, so richer merchants built entire streets of them, many of which survive today.
Today many kura remain, some still function as family storehouses, other remain in use as factories, especially the breweries and distilleries that make things like sake, soy sauce, miso etc., like this beautifully restored old Sake brewery (still in business).
Other have been rebuilt as private homes (left) or converted to galleries, hostels, shops, offices or even museums (right).
