We are constantly told how much better life would be for everyone if we abandoned our cars, our McMansions, and our good sense and returned to cities where we could build an urban utopia replete with centrally planned communal parks, integrated transit systems, and a shared sense of community (that is, we would live in apartments and share our walls, ceilings, and floors with loud neighbors).
In fact, we've been told recently by our own housing secretary that this utopia is within our grasp because "(w)e’ve reached the limits of suburban development: People are beginning to vote with their feet and come back to the central cities.” This turns out to be false, or course. We are nowhere near the limit of suburban development and we continue to vote with our feet out of urban centers.
