> I think most people in the suburban US have no idea what a public, car-free, communal space where people can casually gather without buying something even is.

> I think most people in the suburban US have no idea what a public, car-free, communal space where people can casually gather without buying something even is. The place where I grew up had a town center with offices above shops, and plenty of open areas for people to gather; it was designed for being a "third space." Then (a few years before COVID), it went under new management who was livid that so many people were spending time there without shopping and they did various things to make it much less desirable to go there if you aren't shopping. About 30% of the stores/restaurants went out of business in a year. Turns out, for the right sized pies, a large slice of a smaller pie is worse than a small slice of a larger pie.