And it is their prerogative, their preference. For cities that suit their needs. They reject coercion. Baby boomers associate cars = freedom. Millennials, tethered to the car in their youth, dependent upon bus drivers and moms to chauffeur them anywhere, see anything but cars as freedom.
Gas prices have little to do with it. These are market forces rejecting their own parameters. Shedding an old skin and establishing a new. Unfortunately, the government apparatus that delivers the infrastructure of cities is stuck in the past. Not preparing for the future. For our cities to succeed and our nation to compete.
