Re: why are people seeking to preserve the concept of the city at all?
Do not confuse autonomous vehicles with shared vehicles. The concepts are independent, and autonomous vehicle capability simply enhances the usefulness of both shared and private vehicles.
Similarly do not confuse autonomous with electric vehicles... power systems are an independent variable.
Also, do not assume that autonomous vehicles must be autonomous mode only, nor that autonomous vehicles cannot mix with human controlled vehicles - it should be obvious that their introduction will require the ability to mix with manual control vehicles