I think sprawl and zoning are orthogonal issues honestly - the problem with terrible suburban neighborhoods are largely caused by the same things as terrible ur

I think sprawl and zoning are orthogonal issues honestly - the problem with terrible suburban neighborhoods are largely caused by the same things as terrible urban neighborhoods: the top-down master-plan philosophy of urban planning. If anything onerous suburban zoning tends to be far more painful than onerous urban zoning. The lack of livability is the result of overly restrictive zoning. Instead of putting supermarkets and movie theaters where people want them, they go where planners have deemed The Proper Place. Most suburbs are characterized but this, and it turns out top-down planners aren't actually very good at foreseeing what residents want, and what will create the greatest quality of life for them. Agree with all the points about sprawl and toxic car-centric lifestyles, but even in its own context, these neighborhoods are still failures. I've personally never lived in Houston, but there's almost no major city in America where you can find actually lax zoning. In almost all places it's all incredibly restrictive - if anything urban areas tend to be a bit more lax (they at least entertain the idea of mixed-use development). Overplanning is the disease, and both urban and suburban places can manifest it.