While I agree that the generational change is definitely there, I think the author's first example (street lights at San Francisco) is not a good example because it's the result of a different trend:

Americans no longer believe that a public space should be nicely maintained. Especially San Francisco. Its street is where you meet homeless tents, feces on pavement, the smell of weeds, people walking around with their asscracks visible. It's no longer a nice place, and whether we like or not, fewer people believe we should spend money to make it feel more pleasant.

Which is pretty sad, because once it gets bad enough, it basically becomes a self-reinforcing cycle.