Originally Posted by
prairiepedaler
I think what the author is suggesting is keeping cities at a "human scale". Duplication of cities so there are more of them rather than continually expanding megacities with endless suburbs; making city streets for bike and pedestrian traffic rather than for the automobile. Not a return to the hovels of the dark ages.
Unlikely to anticipate the breakup of cities, without some kind of catastrophe.
Here in Metro Boston is a pleasant prosperous suburb of Newton, "The Garden City." It was formed in the late 19th-20th Century as a coalescence of several villages, some centered on trolley line stops, and each neighbor hood is distinctive.
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
Rather than having a single city center, Newton is a patchwork of thirteen villages, many boasting small downtown areas of their own…
Although most of the villages have a post office, they have no legal definition and no firmly defined borders. This village-based system often causes some confusion with addresses and for first time visitors.