Speaking from a totally selfish perspective, it really is incredible to have a downtown area in the 15-30 minute drive range away. They act like heatsinks to suck the riffraff out of the surroundings. If you're homeless, why stay in the unwalkable town where you see 1/10 the people? If you're a criminal, why stay where you might be recognized and have 1/10 the targets and no alleys to hide in? Let the people who want to live in a concrete anthill do it.

My personal target for living is a city of at least 50,000 people but less than 1,000 per square mile.