Just got me thinking about how much an area would attract residents if it could advertise the savings they'd make from living there as compared to anywhere 'normal'.

No car = no on-going petrol / diesel costs.

Fewer cars = cleaner / healthier air. Quieter, more serene ... everything.

Cleaner / Healthier air = Fewer health issues.

Fewer cars = more bikes

More bikes = physically healthier people.

Good planning is worth its weight in gold. I fear I'm stumbling into utopia theory, which is fraught with forgetting a whole lot of other realities.

American cities are not nice places to live due to crime..the built environment is often better than equivalent cities elsewhere. People who care about cities need to care about law and order.