It’s interesting that you think the opposite of the suburbs is high rises (I assume that’s what you mean by rat cages).

The reality is that prewar housing in cities in the US was still frequently single family housing. The Chicago Bungalow is an obvious example.

The difference was in how close they were to each other and how much of the infrastructure was given to cars.

I’m not sure I buy that there is some tidy explanation about suburbanization leading to the decline in social interaction but if you think everyone describing city living is describing midtown manhattan you’ve got to myopic view of what urban housing means.

This is true of suburbs as well fwiw. There are lots of walkable suburbs with common community space and not a McMansion or big box shop to be seen.

The pre-war streetcar suburbs are great. Everything is on a grid, which makes getting around easy. After WWII it's all cul-de-sacs and arterials, and there is no place for kids to walk to.