So the author's (I see that he's a professor of urban planning AND a real estate developer) theory seems to be that he's predicting and counting on the fact that our subprime borrowers, and/or those that hideously overextended themselves to begin with will resurrect our urban centers?

Does anybody really believe that these people's mindsets have changed from their original desire to obtain status without the ability to pay for it? Does he think that they really have any assets to fall back on since they've been foreclosed on and forced to move to smaller digs?

Not only that, but they will be forced to pay enormously for an extremely small fraction of the space that they were previously accustomed to. Not that they won't try if our equally greedy banks help them, but when things fall apart again does he think that they won't resent it? In effect, they are still stuck in the same boat no matter how you slice it. In debt forever. And they will know it eventually, but they won't change their thinking even if it's wrong.

They'll just make their now VERY close proximity neighbors know of the resentment they harbor and the injustice done to them (not their fault of course *rollseyes*) constantly and that's not my kind of neighborhood. I don't care how cool it looks on paper.