[EricE]

Yes - if Cities were so inherently attractive why did so many willingly flee them during the pandemic and not return?

[mmooss]

The pandemic was not a normal situation. There are centuries of evidence about cities, pre- and now post-pandemic.

Some clear empirical data is housing prices: People are willing to pay far more to live in many cities than anywhere else, often for much smaller residences.

[ghaff]

Different strokes for different folks. There's an attraction to having more space/less noise/etc. and being able to travel into a big city for activities without too much hassle/time. There's also an attraction to having a probably smaller place and just walk/cab/transit to those activities.

I ended up mostly gravitating to the former but I understand the attraction of the latter and, who knows, I may change my preference some day.

[dukeyukey]

Probably because the things that make cities attractive were literally outlawed during COVID?

[s1artibartfast]

Framed differently, I think that for most people, jobs are the primary driver for urbanization.