It would seem, as an unforseen result of purusing my finished pictures library, that I have quite a collection of pictures (approximately 40) which emphasize a tight-quarter diminishing perspective. And, for some reason I can't explain exactly, most of those pictures were made in foreign (to me) countries.
The best sort-of-explanation I can come up with is that many countries around the world, outside of the US, have not been hell-bent on eradicating - on the pretext of "urban renewal" - their urban heritage. Here in the US, most (not all) real estate developers are operating in the buy the old, tear it down and and put up the new.