>People just walked to a shop a block away for the things they needed. Those days are gone because no small "shop a block away" can compete with the behemoths

>People just walked to a shop a block away for the things they needed. Those days are gone because no small "shop a block away" can compete with the behemoths of Amazon, Instacart or major supermarket chains that deliver, or cloud kitchens with DoorDash or UberEats, not unlike how American fast food chains and Starbucks crowded out a lot of former native mom-and-pop cafes and restaurants. What "existed for millennia" only had to compete with nearest such other small business in each direction. Now, they're competing with the world's supply chain. Just look at a traffic cam in any "walkable city" where vehicles still run and count the brand names crowding the streets doing trips that just didn't happen even 20 years ago.