And why not? As more wealthy people begin to feel physically and spiritually detached from city life, as the bonds of downtown fray, what is there to replace them but the blinkered view that a city is really a cluster of small towns, self-sufficient enclaves that just happen to lie next to one another? The lie in that analysis is apparent in areas that lack basic amenities like parks. But it can look newly reasonable in places where the old perks of big-city life can be summoned to your front door or your TV screen—from behind a laptop where colleagues from all over the world appear every day. Someone else may have to leave their neighborhood every morning, but you never will