Odense in Denmark, 200k. Good public transportation, never needed a car when visiting it. Roskilde is even smaller 50k and fine to get around walking, biking or by public transportation.
In that town in question, I imagine the average household lives on at least quarter acre lots if not more, and that's how they want to live. Does that sound similar to Copenhagen? Is it realistic then to expect a Copenhagen transit style to be functional in that town?
That's just work, and still a pretty low percentage. Lots of folk doing grocery shopping, visiting friends, etc. by other means of transportation (cycling primarily). And where cars do intersect with daily life (i.e. not on the highway), they're integrated way more safely into the infrastructure.
Amsterdam is not an isolated example for the Netherlands where density can easily match a mid sized US city. Further, the density of a downtown district in that same town could easily match the density of a block in Amsterdam (the buildings are only 2 to 4 stories tall)
The examples from those other towns and general strategies employed could easily translate to a smaller town. Alternatively, that smaller town could use towns in the Netherlands as a template for growth rather than say LA
What is your point even? Population? Sprawl?