The master bee keeper told us the hives in suburban yards do the best. You have trees, flowers planted by homeowners, fruit trees etc etc. We are rural, farm land around us, gmo corn and soy which has no good stuff for the bees. Here the bees depend on the flowering trees, more than the flowers. Now I have converted a lot of our grass to nectar producing flowers for the bees, but I need to protect them from the deer. Which have totally munched down our plants this winter.
He recommends two hives, if one has issues you can use some of the bees from the good hive to save the second one.
Here in frederick, bee keepers have the right to have them in suburban yards, you just need to inform your neighbors. They can not keep you from having them. We were told one thing to have in our bee kit is a epipen just in case, even if you never had a reaction to a sting.
Some townhouse owners in baltimore have them on their balconies, the bees do great in baltimore, high density housing.
The bees are so gentle, I was handling them with no gloves or suit on, and my first time ever. I did have a face veil, one thing they say you should wear at all times, they like to crawl up dark spaces, nose, ears lol.
I am sure I will be stung, but the stings have good properties, he stings his knees once a year, keeps him walking. Another stings near her eye, keeps the cloudiness away, he also told us someone with MS came to him and he supplied bees for stinging her. She came in a wheelchair and can now walk unassisted, over a period of month, no clue how often she was stinging herself.
My hands hurt a lot so if a sting helps them, it will be fine. The Bee sting is so much less of a sting then the wasps, that have stung me multiple times since I moved here. One time I had 14 sting me at once.
(Depeditated? Have to google that!) 
