This is something that interests me quite a bit as a worldbuilder and amateur historian. One thing that has always bugged me about Middle Earth is just how empty Eriador really is. Even given 2,000 years of calamity, you'd still expect a de-centralized patchwork of very small fiefdoms reminiscent of 6th century Italy and most of Europe. I've always thought it odd how Rhovanion that is supposed to be this wild borderland region, is dramatically more populated then the vast stretch of land that used to be a great kingdom. It really makes you wonder:
A.) What is so special about Bree that it is literally the only surviving town out of what must have been thousands of towns scattered across Arnor at one point that it survived when everything else went "full walking dead" (almost literally!)
B.) Are there are other settlements across Eriador that survived but just fail to make the annals because neither the Hobbit nor the Lord of the Rings did much besides travel to Rivendell? The books seem to imply Dunedain settlements but it's sort of hard to picture what these look like. I've never gotten the impression that the Dunedain population is very large at all, small enough to be based mostly out of Rivendell, but they must have women and children somewhere. But the Dunedain even during the height of Arnor's power seem to me to be more the ruling, elite class... implying large lower classes of "middle men" native to Eriador... of whom the Bree-landers are the "sole" survivors? On the other hand, the lore seems to imply that it really is an empty land of ruins with the occasional wandering ranger.
C.) What would a Dunedain enclave really look like? Pretty hard to imagine a Dunedain culture living in standard looking villages, but I know that's exactly how some fan-fiction has depicted it.
I suppose these questions are what make Eriador an interesting setting for the game and I look forward to seeing how the TOR 2.0 answer some of these questions.