Well this is also combined with a shift away from rural areas in terms of job opportunities, as farming has either become hugely automated, or staffed by skilled labor that is severely underpaid.
Where there is economic opportunity, density and walk ability are forbidden by law, not by market preferences or by natural choices.
I want to believe this, to a large extent. But it doesn't square with my experiences in small towns.
I fully grant that I'm rather removed from my experiences in said small towns. And I should fully lay the cards on the table that I haven't driven a car for my own commute or basic transportation in almost a decade. I far far prefer biking/walking to work. Even still, we drive the kids to school where we are now. (We walked them back in Seattle.)
Where there is economic opportunity, density and walk ability are forbidden by law, not by market preferences or by natural choices.