City dwelling long past?

"San Francisco is in the midst of another of its periodic building booms. In the past few years, a spate of ugly office/residential towers have sprouted south of the main drag, Market Street, and further aesthetic atrocities are in the pipeline." But what's the point, with technology fast making it unnecessary for workers to congregate in urban centers as they once did? "Americans have never liked big cities very much and have devoted enormous energy over the years trying to escape them. With today's technology, escape is closer at hand than it's ever been." Wired 03/29/07

Inexplicably, I find myself more readily drawn to villages and townships as opposed to cities – as the years wane on. Is it a sign of age? Is it the responsibility of fatherhood? I spent the majority of my first three decades dreaming of busy metropolitan streets and sprawling downtown high-rises. Yet somehow, I continuously find myself returning to the quieter lives of small rural communities. Experiencing the cultures of familiar lives. Documenting the interactions of youthful big-city dreamers and the content village dwellers. Realizing the compromise that brings them together, not settling for anything short of “good enough”. – DN