Indeed, this is a saddening development. Especially as people get older and need to interact with people they know socially on a frequent basis.
This reminds me of one of the best cities I’ve ever been on, Brasília. Literally every block is build to be walkable as a small condo and have its own cottage businesses like the so-called “padarias” (Brazilian bakeries), grocers, etc. And all condos/blocks have some amenities like multi-sports court. A unique feature in Brazil (perhaps in all of Latin America) is that all buildings are walkable in the ground floor, meaning that it’s all open spaces and you can actually see kids playing in their building or region. Very lovely.
We're building sprawling deserts of joy. Rising energy costs and changing mores could turn those metaphorical deserts literal as people would rather live close to city centres; there might not be someone to buy the house you thought was a surefire investment.
This reminds me of one of the best cities I’ve ever been on, Brasília. Literally every block is build to be walkable as a small condo and have its own cottage businesses like the so-called “padarias” (Brazilian bakeries), grocers, etc. And all condos/blocks have some amenities like multi-sports court. A unique feature in Brazil (perhaps in all of Latin America) is that all buildings are walkable in the ground floor, meaning that it’s all open spaces and you can actually see kids playing in their building or region. Very lovely.