I'm sure it can be attributed to a lot of factors. Geographically, the USA has a lot of space, so it's relatively easy to sprawl. Some places have to be more s

I'm sure it can be attributed to a lot of factors. Geographically, the USA has a lot of space, so it's relatively easy to sprawl. Some places have to be more space-efficient. Ideologically, the USA has always been about individual rights, private property and self-reliance. Car ownership fits that model of thinking better. Politically, private companies have always had a lot of influence over government. When the car became widespread, it was easy to influence governments to build highways, favour cars in roads, pass parking minimums, etc. Historically, the USA has a history of segregation. Public transit mixes people from around the city, and I'm sure at a certain point in time there were people in power interested on reducing that as much as possible. I mean, there's that whole event with Rosa Parks as an example [1]. Moreover, a lot of the USA is "new". With a shorter tradition of city-building and more of a blank canvas to start, I'm not surprised what people expect and how they try to build their cities is different. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks#Refusal_to_move https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks#Refusal_to_move