Absolutely. Or put another way, if you can imagine a map of a metro area distorted in terms of commute times between places rather than physical distance, the g

Absolutely. Or put another way, if you can imagine a map of a metro area distorted in terms of commute times between places rather than physical distance, the goal is to maximize the density of the city, putting as many people as possible within reasonable commute times. This is possible via either dense housing or efficient transportation or both.