An example from ATL Urbanist shows another great example of how we've forgotten what's good for the humans:
The top image is taken from a 1909 aerial map of Atlanta, at the intersection of Trinity Avenue and Forsyth Street. It’s typical of the compact land use of pre-automobile cities. The bottom photo shows what we have in that spot today.
I shaded in blue what is pretty much the only set of structures left intact after the surroundings were obliterated by the desire to build parking lots.
Previous example here.