> And for that reason, the brief trend of urbanization has already reversed
The current flight to the suburbs is a matter of unaffordability, which is very different than the forces that drove previous waves of suburbanization.
People being priced out of desirable urban areas hasn't necessarily resulted in a reversal of urbanism, but rather an increasing pressure to urbanize the more "affordable" (in price per sqft) suburban areas.
You see this in efforts to change suburban planning codes to allow multiple dwellings per lot, or to allow bars and restaurants to be open later. Both of those are examples of initiatives that have faced pretty stiff opposition from longtime suburban residents.
Developers have caught on to this too, which is why you see developments like the one described in the article, however shallow the implementations may be.
I agree that there is a lot of push and pull, and huge financial and quality of life trade-offs that everyone is forced to make.
The current flight to the suburbs is a matter of unaffordability, which is very different than the forces that drove previous waves of suburbanization.
People being priced out of desirable urban areas hasn't necessarily resulted in a reversal of urbanism, but rather an increasing pressure to urbanize the more "affordable" (in price per sqft) suburban areas.
You see this in efforts to change suburban planning codes to allow multiple dwellings per lot, or to allow bars and restaurants to be open later. Both of those are examples of initiatives that have faced pretty stiff opposition from longtime suburban residents.
Developers have caught on to this too, which is why you see developments like the one described in the article, however shallow the implementations may be.
I agree that there is a lot of push and pull, and huge financial and quality of life trade-offs that everyone is forced to make.