Our Car Culture Is Not a Problem
The interaction between transportation options and car culture, and housing options and sprawl is complex. Larger lots required by particular housing types spread things out, reducing walkablity and making car use more of a necessity, and car culture makes sprawl possible. This article from Boom California is a really interesting look at how housing preference and car culture intersect.
“You may not want to drive, but you’ve got to do it to get from your single-family house, a dwelling by its very nature not serviceable by rapid transit, to wherever you’re going. What holds Los Angeles back, then, isn’t a car culture but the house culture that necessitates the car.”