It always makes me think about how when cities or nations get more wealth, they seem to value different things. Wealthier East Asian cities consistently have gr

It always makes me think about how when cities or nations get more wealth, they seem to value different things. Wealthier East Asian cities consistently have great public transport. Is it just a population density thing, that there's so many people zipping around in such a small area that it pays off to spend the money on infrastructure? Is it a lower cost of labour thing? Or is it a thing that people value more and demand? I'm never quite sure.