There's one thing I like from open world video games and that's you can stay watching around you and see the npcs acting like real people, doing normal stuff, talking with each other, etc.
Sadly, with Daz3d is a real pain in the ass making large scenes and using billboards looks kind of fake to me. Perphaps some day Daz will improve to the level of Maya or 3ds max.
Anyway, here's how I imagine some Steampunk City environment.
Btw, if you've played Bioshock Infinite, you will find out something.

Full image: https://postimg.cc/qN1tYw9q