[shagmin]

Nothing is set in stone and the choice is not all one or the other. The US being so large means different regions can experiment with different things (I wish there was more of this). Plus, cities are somewhat like living, organic things. NYC made Times Square pedestrian-only and that's widely been viewed as a success (and there's more biking than ever in NYC in general last time I visited).

I live in a fast growing area where the city is actively building greenways and has started to encourage a lot more dense, vertical development strategically around certain areas. Construction is happening one way or another, why have yet another urban area sprawling in every direction?