I think a big caveat here is "in cities". The author is from Seattle so I think they're writing from a perspective of someone for whom downtown is the furthest

I think a big caveat here is "in cities". The author is from Seattle so I think they're writing from a perspective of someone for whom downtown is the furthest place they have to commute in a day. The other example given in the article quotes New York City. (and both quotes mention "urban")