Since this generation can't afford/doesn't want cars, they live in the city, since they won't be able to afford/don't want kids, they'll likely stay there. Warning, seismic culture shift ahead!

To each there own. I look at the pictures with the article, and see concrete and brick, and contrast that to the miles of woods, brooks, and dazzling stars against dark skies that was the background of my childhood. It may be fun for young hipsters, but I can't imagine a childhood in such a place, where the milky way and fireflies are things only experienced during a brief vacation. I suspect that when its time for a family, these people will realize the sterility of concrete and asphalt, and begin an outward migration. There are high tech jobs in the boonies, with 5 minute, 2 stop sign commutes.

My first five years out of college I lived and worked in Cambridge and Boston and I knew it was great but I don't think I realized just how great. I moved to the south for grad school and did my internship in the middle of a huge, isolated office park. Going from my apartment to my car to my office in isolation was depressing. Then, once at the office, you were trapped. It was a beautiful green building with natural light and a big cafeteria, coffee shop, a pond, and even a gym, but the feeling of being "stuck" would just hang over you. You couldn't run outside for five minutes to grab a coffee or go to lunch anywhere but the cafeteria. And driving to work every day just wasn't fun at all. When I moved back to Boston I swore I would never work in a suburb again. And I didn't for three years. But after getting laid off and 18 months of unemployment, I couldn't be picky. I work just outside the city and it's a short non-highway drive from my more urban home and I can still bike to work a few days a week. I still really miss being able to just take a walk to grab lunch or coffee-- I have to be so much more organized making sure I have my "supplies" for the day. I don't love the location and I actually miss the T, but I'm getting used to it. I don't know if I could handle a long car commute in suburban Boston traffic though. Like I said though, the job market sucked and at some point I had location had move down the priority list. First I started applying to places in Waltham, but eventually I was sending my resume to Natick (ugh!). I wonder if these "young people" who are so intent on the city are being naive and too picky or if their ability to be picky is a sign the economy is improving.

Boonies can be ok, suburbs, not so much. Woods, brooks, and stars are awesome--128 traffic, malls, big box stores, chain restaurants, and their associated acres of asphalt are not. I could live in a small town with a center you can walk to and densely situated little houses, but I don't think I could live in a subdivision off the highway. I think the idea that when given the choice, everyone moves to the suburbs when they kids is a falicy. I think a lot of people move to the suburbs when they have kids because it's cheaper and they need to divert housing funds elsewhere. But I'd want my kids to play in parks with other kids, not alone in my backyard. And I'd want them to know that there are other ways to get around besides a car, like using your own body. I'd want my kids to have a real neighborhood with a shop we go to and a movie theater we go to and a library we go to, etc. I'd want my kids to be able to go out with their friends without having to be driven. I'd like them to see people from other walks of life and shelter them from being sheltered.