It's the dawn of the second age of modern cities. There was a period of time in the mid 20th century when cities were being drained of people. Some of that was

It's the dawn of the second age of modern cities. There was a period of time in the mid 20th century when cities were being drained of people. Some of that was motivated by a desire to have a nuclear family living in a house in the suburbs with a lawn and a garage. Some of that was motivated by the perception of the cities as an unsafe or unsavory place to live. Some of that was motivated by blatant racism (so-called "white flight"). The population of Manhattan peaked around 1910, as did the population of Paris, the population of Detroit around 1950, the population of San Francisco originally peaked around 1950 as well. But since around the 1980s or so there's been a revitalization of cities, especially in America. Changes in crime, changes in the economy, and changes in culture have brought people back to the cities. The suburban nuclear family is no longer the ideal for ambitious 20 to 30 somethings. The best paying jobs are no longer factory or industrial jobs outside the city, frequently they are knowledge worker jobs in urban centers. And young professionals seem to prefer the city life in many cases. The crime waves of the late '80s and early '90s (due to innumerable factors, especially the onset of the "crack epidemic") abated by the late '90s, right as the tech boom started. The result of all of these changes has been an influx of population and business back to urban centers. And that has led to the increasing importance of public transit as well as walkable/bikable cities. Cities are discovering that expecting everyone to drive their car to work every day leads to gridlock, and they are reaping the consequences of low urban populations, low city revenues, and low investment in transportation infrastructure during the mid-20th century. They're also discovering that there are strong benefits to walkable and bikable cities. It leads to generally more appealing downtowns and, at least the perception of, nicer cities to live in. The improvements in telecommunications as well as delivery and other services (smartphones, amazon, uber, etc.) has reduced a lot of the traditional downsides to not owning a car (it's easier to find your way around due to GPS and maps, it's easier to coordinate with friends, it's easier to get important household goods delivered, etc.) Cars are still relevant, and important, but things are changing in terms of where people want to live and work, and the era of the city designed solely around car transit is finally coming to an end.