A return to 19th century cafe culture is perhaps a bit optimistic.
I would be satisfied with a re-emergence early-90's (that is 1990's) chill coffee house. But those days are gone too. I'd say it's because of two reasons: Real Estate (rent too damn high) and no time because everyone is either working or not in the right head-space.
There was a time in 1990's where one could read about 19th-century flaneurs and actually think they were also a flaneur, spending all afternoon in a coffee house hanging out with random people, talking about cool stuff. I did it, for a very short while then -poof-, it was gone.
I would be satisfied with a re-emergence early-90's (that is 1990's) chill coffee house. But those days are gone too. I'd say it's because of two reasons: Real Estate (rent too damn high) and no time because everyone is either working or not in the right head-space.
There was a time in 1990's where one could read about 19th-century flaneurs and actually think they were also a flaneur, spending all afternoon in a coffee house hanging out with random people, talking about cool stuff. I did it, for a very short while then -poof-, it was gone.