[zip1234]

I've been thinking about this a lot and I think our car-focused construction patterns are to blame. In my state we have a grid of roads (whether paved or unpaved) that covers pretty much the entire state. It seems like where the roads go, people will go build. Everyone wants to have their own quiet area and when everyone does it (enabled by the automobile), we end up with incredibly fractured habitat. I think the only real solution is for governments to stop allowing sprawling, car centric, development and possibly get rid of some roads in rural areas. Doing that without impacting wealth might be tough. However, there are plenty of places where roads go that do not need roads. At a personal level though? People underestimate the impact they can have in their local government.