Suburbs have uniquely hostile road geometry for pedestrians, that's why they get a bad rap, but it's also a security feature.

This is highly location-dependent. In the north east it might be the case (I’m thinking of the commuter belt for New York City, towns in NJ, CT or Long Island which are towns in their own right), but suburbs in Texas (for example) are a hellscape of strip malls, often without any kind of sidewalk or amenity besides 17 different churches and a Sonic.

The people who live there might only want those amenities. As work from home continues, we shall see what grows up. Probably a whataburger.

Perhaps that is the case, but thanks to suburban zoning no one will ever find out.

Not at all. A small town has a town center, a residential area clustered around it, and nature or farmland surrounding that.

Suburbs sometimes have a town center but often it's much more amorphous with different strip malls and such. Everything is spread out. There is no place where you're at the heart of the town, in the center of activity. And even if there is such a place, it's probably driving distance, just like everything else. You need a car because everything is spread out because all the areas of activity are surrounded by parking lots.

I live in the upper Midwest. A growing number of small towns have evolved away from the "town center" model, and now have a mostly vacant / decaying downtown, and strip malls anchored by big-box stores, at the edge of town. Or, the same thing but with the stores in a neighboring town. In other words, the small towns have re-structured themselves as suburbs without the urb.

The exceptions are towns with a hospital or college that can retain some vitality in the downtown area.

Yep. I grew up there. Chrissie Hynde's song "My City Was Gone" is right on the money.