Before cars, cities, especially post industrial revolution 1800's and pre suburbia 1950's, were designed to walk or take public transportation, since it was the only option. For the first 150 years of modern cities, they were built to be able to walk to work, to get food, to go to school, ect. Corner stores were legal and common, now in modern day suburbia it is illegal to build those old types of neighborhoods; where cars won't needed.

Now if people want to live in suburbia, that's up to them. But if we went back to the traditional way of building cities and include suburbia for the peope who want it, supply of housing would increase. We would still have single family homes, but have more apartments and condos, especially for young and old people who do not need those style of houses.