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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad. [/quote]

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else[/quote]
You have a very limited view of the world.

Urban renewal was a generational event leading need to demographic trends from from the late 90s until the mid-2010s. Those demographic trends are now shifting.

You seem to think that there’s been some conspiracy when it’s always been and always will be consumer preferences. Just because people don’t like to consume what you like to consume doesn’t mean that there is some nefarious plot. That notion seems to be a hallmark of certain left wing thinking going back to Chomsky or perhaps it’s embedded in the whole Marxian false consciousness thing. The problem is that it is just not true. [/quote]

what “demographic trends” exactly? something tells me you are the kind of person who believes everything is just a “demographic trend” that policymakers cannot do anything about … except when it comes to ensuring everyone has free parking and can drive 50mph, in which case, policies need to rule with an iron fist to protect that.[/quote]
Have you met a generation of people called Millennials? Many are in their 40s now and past their move to the city after graduation phase. Over half of Millennials own homes, which is greater than GenX when they were the same age. And generally speaking, they are fleeing cities to buy their homes in the exurbs. 
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/24/millennials-are-fleeing-cities-in-favor-of-the-exurbs

And this migration of Millennials from cities to exurbs is mostly driven by consumer preferences for a single family house with a yard. In fact, survey after survey shows (as well as decades of behavior) that Millennials (and consumers generally) prefer to have those things even it it means that they have to live further away from work. 
https://www.redfin.com/news/millennial-homebuyers-prefer-single-family-homes/

The entire progressive urbanist thing is literally to force people to live next to them so they don’t feel lonely.

[/quote]

lol dude. DC’s population is growing, not shrinking - driven by new babies. https://mayor.dc.gov/release/2023-census-data-highlights-continued-population-growth-washington-dc#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20July%201,than%20deaths%20in%20the%20year.

got any other great insight?[/quote]

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