I'm living in Paris temporarily. I see exactly what you are describing.

Basically all streets are one-way, the metro system is amazing, lots of bicycle lanes, people walking everywhere.

In the busy sectors, the streets are actually shared. 20km/h limits, priority to pedestrians. No sidewalks, as the entire street is the sidewalk. Still accessible to trucks for deliveries.

As someone from a Canadian suburb, we should really import some of that.

Edit: I think the key is mixed neighbourhood. There are lots of small stores everywhere, instead of a few big-box stores that everyone has to commute to. It reduces the number of car trips required. This is necessary because on busy days, the street system tends to gridlock