They huddle together on blankets on the floor, their meagre belongings crammed tightly into plastic bags form a mini-fortress around their allotted space.

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Held in the evening, outside of the Coliseum, pilgrims huddle together, holding candles as clergymen make their way around the imperial amphitheatre and up to Palatine Hill, where the service concludes.

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Some of those who say the city has had its day also point to economic and technical changes that seem to remove one of the most basic reasons for getting together in an urban huddle.

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Chaudhary and Davis, who have worked together for five months, huddle at a single desk in a stark white office.

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Instead of getting together to watch a movie, some people huddle around the living-room game console, or strap on a headset and chat online with friends across town or across the country over some gunfire.

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