Walking doesn't mean never driving.

Every trip to a grocery store, restaurant, bar, friend's house, transit station, etc. that can be done by walking or cycling is one car trip off of the roads. That has benefits.

Of course some places are not suited to this. But there are places that could be, and those places combined have a lot of people living in them.

Dismissing the idea in all of America as an absolute is missing a lot of potential, and a lot of what is already happening.

And from my experience looking at real estate prices, houses in areas with good scores for walkability, cycling, and transit are very much in demand and priced higher than those without. There is at least some segment of the market that very much wants these qualities.