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All the dependencies that make urban density relevant are being eroded by technology. Self driving cars will be one part of a trend that makes remote living a

All the dependencies that make urban density relevant are being eroded by technology. Self driving cars will be one part of a trend that makes remote living a lot more pleasant and popular. Amazon will deliver most of what you need to live (and soon eat). SpaceX is working on low orbit and therefore low latency high speed global internet so you can work and/or get entertainment anywhere. Tesla can sell you solar panels and a battery to power your home. You can do a septic system instead of a sewer hookup. If you insist on gas you could get propane delivered inexpensively. If you want to mingle/meet people you can do that online. Then with a level 5 self driving car you can send your kids to far away schools everyday easily, or work at your "desk" during a long commute in the car. Or say if you want to drive 90 minutes into town for a basketball game that's no big deal if a computer does the thinking while you watch movies in the back. I live in Oregon where I expect a profound impact. There are so many amazing places here that are incredibly beautiful/cheap and within 90 minutes of a major metro area/airport. I think the real driver of this change will be cost, younger people (myself included) are getting priced out of owning a nice home in a major metro area. I'm seriously considering moving to Sweet Home Oregon and building a mansion on acres for half the cost of a modest townhouse in portland. High speed Internet is the missing piece for me.

ghaff 9y ago
It's at least plausible that the current infatuation with mostly a handful of dense urban cores by mostly a certain young educated demographic will end up being a short-term blip. It's pretty recent--which is one of the big reasons for all the issues with housing and transit infrastructure in those areas. It wouldn't surprise me at all if people look back in 20 or 30 years and see migration to the densest urban areas in the US as this temporary aberration.
majewsky 9y ago
> If you want to mingle/meet people you can do that online. There's a huge difference between meeting online and meeting offline. Online might become a venerable substitute for offline if VR/AR technology advances to the point where we can have the full experience of the other people sitting around the same table, i.e. their whole body language etc.

ghaff 9y ago

It's at least plausible that the current infatuation with mostly a handful of dense urban cores by mostly a certain young educated demographic will end up being a short-term blip. It's pretty recent--which is one of the big reasons for all the issues with housing and transit infrastructure in those areas. It wouldn't surprise me at all if people look back in 20 or 30 years and see migration to the densest urban areas in the US as this temporary aberration.

majewsky 9y ago

> If you want to mingle/meet people you can do that online. There's a huge difference between meeting online and meeting offline. Online might become a venerable substitute for offline if VR/AR technology advances to the point where we can have the full experience of the other people sitting around the same table, i.e. their whole body language etc.