Completely agree with you, and its telling that virtually every response here has been "That's only true in the US!". I've lived in Japan, and its true, urban l

Completely agree with you, and its telling that virtually every response here has been "That's only true in the US!". I've lived in Japan, and its true, urban living there is much better for families. But the premise of this thread is American cities and why people choose to live elsewhere, dependent on their cars. And the answer is precisely what you've said. American cities are not only unpleasant families and the many people who don't fall in the young, single, relatively wealthy professional class, they are actively hostile towards them. Almost no one in the suburbs lives there because they love suburban life. They live there because it's the lesser evil compared to living in the city, given their personal situation. The people here calling for bans on cars are treating cancer with cough medicine. If people want to remove the American dependence on cars, they need to make American cities a more than a playground for the young professional class, and make them places a large proportion of Americans would actually want to live in.