Alright Franny... but I'll have to take you to task over your comments earlier in this thread.
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I don't think you'll see more business opening up in downtown centers. You'll see a flood of businesses just being virtualized with everyone working from their own home through broadband. Basically company-wide full time telecommuting. Or basically businesses that consist of one dude firing off orders through Instant Messenger to a bunch of people in India.
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This is an absurd prediction. Leave it to a network administrator to envision a world where network administrators give us the solution to high gas prices.
People still have to live their lives irrespective of their work situation. If gas prices are high, you may be able to telecommute but you can't get groceries through a broadband connection. You can't get to a restaurant or a bar that way either. In a world where even a 5 minute jaunt up the road to Kroger becomes costlier than many people are comfortable with, a residence within walking distance of certain amenities becomes more attractive.
Two other things:
1) Why would my employer virtualize its business on my account? How I get to work or how much it costs me really isn't their problem. Until we reach a point where employees are totally unwilling to commute any distance, across the board, I don't see "making employees come to work" as a problem for employers.
2) Wouldn't most firms that can realize significant added value by making employees telecommute already have gone that direction long ago? Fuel is more expensive recently, but it wasn't free at any time in the past.
This vision of a future business world is some crazy, slashdot fantasy!