They were supposed to be saviors of downtown, drawing people by offering parking as plentiful as at any suburban shopping mall.
But decades after cities tore down buildings and replaced them with parking structures, communities across the country are demolishing the garages and putting up buildings again, confident that more people will be drawn to lively offices, hotels and housing.
We can compete with the suburbs by trying to be like them but worse (in the sense of not being able to compete with their specific advantages) was never a good plan.