True. Of course the flip side of this is that not everyone can have garden enough to sustain their family; there’s simply not enough space, especially in cities.

So we need to figure out ways to have what people had then but modernize it so it works for now. Vertical gardening, hydro/aquaponics, use of imminent domain to reclaim unused space, etc. Small urban farms owned by community co-ops, possibly run as a not for profit to keep food costs down.

We also need shifts away from McMansions and housing as a mean of making millions and back to more affordable housing. Maybe put a cap on profit from housing development or some other measure so contractors are incentivized to build actually affordable housing again. Some kind of special loan structure that allows residents to buy city apartment buildings and other buildings as a cooperative and renovate so they can reclaim and revitalize these areas. They would own their own apartments in the end.

Remote work may help here. In the end you can only charge what people are willing and able to pay. As people move out of cities, there will be a lot of empty buildings. Rent prices will come down as a result and buildings will go up for sale trying to mitigate losses. An urban incorporated co-op with a grant could snap one up in forclosure or a bank sale. The opportunities are there for people who start to move and position for it now.

Ultimately, building communities should be the business of the people living in them. Not something that is packaged and sold. We need to get back to that.